Blesséd Fantasy
by Ammom
Summary: Zidane chases after Kuja's last words: diving into a brewing war. He must find the four holders of a second crystal to seal back new enemies. Our hero is left to choose between his old friends and a new love as the other characters' stories are revealed.
1. Tellings of My Dear Brother

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE_**

-

Probably the first thing that I should note is that Blessed Fantasy, is pronounced Bless-ed Fantasy.

Anyways, so this story was made on an inkling. It's sort of fast paced, and though it involves all the terms, happenings, people, and places of the game, the story's different nonetheless. There are many interesting twists and factors that I think the readers will enjoy. ) Reviews are appreciated, have fun.

Every chapter now has a themed song at the end with the labeled artist. The chapters are much more sympathetic with them. If you are interested in the song, I can give you a link to a secure download. - _Ammom_

* * *

Nothing. He wasn't sure if it was because he was seeing nothing because his eyes were closed, or because there was nothing to see. He gave a soft shudder as he felt the hand of someone reach out feebly to clasp his own. His fingers twitched stiffly within that grasp, feeling the frailty in its grip, but also the will to keep it there.

"Shh now," he heard someone coo him softly. The voice was slightly deep, but it had a distinct feminism to it. "Everything will be fine, trust me."

Trust you? You are the reason that I am in this; that I left them. I left all of my friends to come here and save you, and what happens? …

_I am not sure. I do not know where I am… _

"You're here, with me," he heard the voice whisper, sending a strange wave of relaxation over him. "And I am here, with you. That is all you need, all I need. Our tale will end with us, and that will be all. There will be nothing else, nothing more."

And if I do not want to let it all end with me? What if I want to live? What will you do then? To me? 

"Strange isn't it?" There was a small serious of giggles that were more insane than humorous. "You, who I have loathed so much for so many years now…

"You, who not only was made to be better than me, to be more _powerful_ than me, proved just that. Though I am older, and I was clearly stronger, you still managed to defeat me."

Yes, but you saved us. Why? I thought you loathed me. 

"And I did…" There was a pause as if he was considering changing that last statement. "But then I saw what you had been talking about all along. What you had said to _him_, back there, at that hateful place, and also what your friends said…" He broke off, and the younger man persisted.

What? What is it 

"I finally realized that everything you said was true. It is through the power of friendship and love, you can get through things."

Yes, but that isn't just it. There is more to it than that.

"Oh? Tell me more."

I… 

"Please, I do not know how much time I have left."

_… _

It isn't something that can be told. It is something that you have to learn for yourself. You can't truly learn anything unless you know both sides.

"And here I thought that I had finally learned what it was that kept you all alive. I thought, at first, that it was your power…"

It's not as it seems… 

"I know that much," he replied. "I learned that it wasn't just because you were powerful…Even when weak, when you were shut down, and all hope was lost, still you persisted."

Are you talking about what happened in the rain city? 

"In a sense, yes," he replied slowly at first, pausing in thought. He added with a hint of humor, "There the good general dug your face into the pavement."

Thanks for the reminder.

"I did not mean…" He broke off, and the young man had the distinct feeling that the other was shaking his head. "Yes, you were shut down, cast aside, treated like a rag doll, but what did you do then? You continued, regardless of that incident, and so you did this the following times you faced her, and you made her see what took me to now to see…"

You still don't fully understand it. It is something that needs to be experienced really. And you…

There was a pause, and he knew that he had hurt the dying man. How he knew this he was unsure of, since it was that same man that hadn't thought twice about killing not only his friends, but him as well. How this man - who lay helplessly beside him - had stricken the crystal of its power.

"I know," he said softly. "I have no friends, and _that_is only part of it, though it is a big part indeed, I must say." He sighed, and the grip tightened even more. "But I am here now, and though it means little to you…"

You dropped me here, and left me for dead.

"I was jealous…"

All this time I thought that I was normal, with parents somewhere out there… 

"I did not intend to…"

_Waiting for me to find my way back to them. _

"I am—"

_And now that feeling, that hope, is gone. _

"But your purpose was far greater than could be imagined..."

_Yeah, _some_ purpose. Destroy a town here, a kingdom there. No big deal maybe to you and the people of your planet, but it is a big deal here. At least, to me it is. To cause others such pain...you must be grieving pretty badly yourself if you're taking everything out on someone else. _

"We were trying to restore the people of our planet..."

_But that wasn't what _you _were trying to do, so don't even try to pretend that it was. Do _not_ try and fool me. _

There was more silence between them for lagging minutes, and the young man assumed that he fell asleep, because his head swam and his body was numbly responding to the shaking of his hand and arm.

_What is it? _

"I was thinking about what you said..."

_Oh? What did I say? _

"You said to not try and fool you, and at first I was unsure of what you were talking about. So I thought about the events that have taken place within the last half year…and I realized that you were right, if only partly.

"I hid what I looked like…because I looked like you. And I looked like them, and that was not what I wanted. I wanted to be recognized for _me_. Those left behind on that planet - they believed in what I was doing, but only because it is what they also thought they wanted."

_No, they knew what their purpose was, and they knew that it was through you that their purpose would be fulfilled. _

"They were made to house the souls."

_But it wouldn't have worked. Those souls of the sleeping people would be forever lost, and then what? What would you do then with them? Kill them? _

"It would not be murdering, because they have no souls. They are mindless beings. They are just vessels."

_But that is where you are wrong, and that is why you can't understand. They have souls, whether you realize it or not. All living beings have a soul, and feelings and thoughts of their own. That is why they talk, and walk, and breathe. They have souls, and two souls _cannot_ occupy the same body. So those of Terra would have just floated around, never able to move on. You would be murdering your own people, and those vessels as well. _

"Zidane..."

_I'm not sure that I want you talking to me right now... _

"But I will anyways..." He squeezed Zidane's hand, and Zidane felt an awkward feeling flow through him. "Because you need to know, to hear what I have to say..."

_And if I don't care? What if I don't listen? _

"Then my words will be lost, and fall on leaden ears. But here, this is the place that memories are made and kept because it is here that souls flow through. And it is here that my words will flow through the branches of people's memories, and they will join those of everyone else's."

_But no one living will hear them. _

"That may be, but you're hearing what I am saying, am I right?"

_It's like I said... _

_What if I don't listen? _

"Then those after you who come here will hear them."

_Do you really believe more will come? _

"Yes," he replied softly. "Because it is here that everything takes place. You saw for yourself the being that watches this place, the _real _being. The one that sorts the souls here, and defends everything that should be and is."

_That thing... _

_It said something as you helped us. _

"What was it?" Zidane paused for a moment.

_It said... _

_'This is not the end. I am eternal... _

_'As long as there is life and death.' _

"And it is right. That thing, it cannot die, but it cannot live either. It is just there, like a machine that can never be destroyed. It is as sure as life will lead to death. That is the only truth of this world, and it is something that we must all face...I understand that now, though I fear it's a little late..."

_It's never too late. You understand it now, and you came to the conclusion that most people refuse to face. _

"But I refused it as well," he responded quietly. "When I should have expected it. Of _course_ I was going to die. I gave him way too much hate, and I loathed him. And when you were made, I turned all of that onto you, because you were made to be better than me, and I wanted all of them to acknowledge me, not you..."

_You wanted their respect. Everyone wants that. But you didn't know how to get it any other way than to bring to them what you knew they desired. _

"But it was more to it than just that. There was something else that I wanted from them, and I didn't realize it until just now. No, I knew what I wanted – I _refused _to believe that it was what I really wanted."

_What was it? _

"It was their love."

There was more silence, and Zidane felt the grip on his hand loosen. He wasn't sure if the other man had fallen asleep or finally passed away, or had just gone into his own deep despair. But Zidane felt his heart begin clutch painfully at his soar chest.

_Kuja! Kuja! _

"Do not worry," the other man whispered softly. "I am still alive..." Kuja squeezed his hand weakly, and Zidane released a relieved, but exhausted sigh.

_I thought that you were... _

"Not quite yet..." Kuja trailed off grimly, as if wishing his companion would say no more. After a moment, his breath catching, the youth decided to try anyhow.

_What is it? What's the matter? _

"Zidane, why did you come?"

_I... _

_I'm actually not all that sure. You saved me, back there, and my friends. I felt like I had to do the same. _

"What you said..."

_What part? _

"'You don't die on me, you hear!'" Zidane didn't respond to this; he didn't know how. "You said that, despite everything that I did to you, you still wanted me to live. Despite the fact that I took away from you and your friends so much, you still wished that I lived. Why did you change your mind so quickly?"

_When we were on Terra, and when you discovered that you were going to die soon... _

_I felt sorry for you... _

"Why? _Why_ would you feel sorry for me when I could have given it no thought if it was _you _with the life span?"

Because I knew then that you had had a troubled life, and that despite that exterior, and despite the way you acted, and the things you did, you cared, and you had feelings. You said that you didn't want to lose your soul, and I knew then that you shouldn't have to, not for that reason.

"You're indeed intriguing, Zidane. First you wish to kill me, and then not to, and then you do, and then you came here to save me. And as we talked, you hated me, and when I _stopped _talking, you called out for me desperately. Are you aware of how much you contradict yourself?"

_Yeah, but it's hard to decide whether I hate you or not. I hate you for the things you do, but I don't because you're like me in some ways, and seeing you forces me to face my problems. And I suppose that that is what I _really_ hate. _

"I see..."

_But now I am no longer sure what to make of you, or my past, or even of myself. I have changed a lot since that trip to Alexandria, and since I found out who you really were, and how you and I are connected to one another. _

"I have changed as well."

_Yeah, _yours_ is a good change I feel, but I turned on my friends, and that is something that I can't believe that they actually forgave me for. I pushed them away, and I didn't care if they died or not right then. _

"And then you did. You _did_ care, Zidane. You were trying to hide it."

_He took away my soul... _

"No, he didn't," Kuja snapped softly, gripping his brother's hand faintly. "Because it is like you said. All living things have souls. If they breathe, and they walk, and they talk...then they are alive. But though plants don't walk or talk, they need food, and they need warmth...just like everyone else does. You were alive, and that is why you were still stronger than me. Because your soul is stronger than mine."

There is something that I don' quite understand though. Why is it that everything that everyone else saw in that place, I saw too? Those memories...

_Some of them weren't even mine. _

"They didn't have to be. You didn't have to be there, because in a sense, they _were _your memories."

_I don't understand. _

"You will soon enough."

Zidane wasn't sure what to say. After all what _could _he say to this man? This total stranger? He didn't know Kuja that well, if at all, and he wasn't sure if he was glad that he didn't, or if he was sorrowful.

_Kuja... _

_Do you ever wish that we...that we ever got to know each other? _

"I dropped you on a planet I was going to destroy, Zidane."

_Yes, I know. But you didn't kill me when you had the chance, did you? When I was just little... _

"Zidane, I myself was fourteen. Ten years has passed since the night of the destruction of Madain Sari, and the death of the summoners. You were so young...you were six, and I had those years to get to know you, and I ended up hating you."

_How come I can't remember? The only familiar thing to me was the blue light. I used to think that it was an ocean. I remember that I once left my adoptive family to find that ocean and my parents... _

_Of course, I didn't... _

"I don't know why you can't remember, but it might have something to do with what happened that night. I dropped you off of the Invincible and I placed you in the summoner village because I knew that he would be destroying it soon."

_I...lived in the summoner village? With her? Why don't I remember something like that... _

_Wait...is that why I saw her memory? Because I was there? But what happened to me? Was I in the boat with her? No, I couldn't have been, because I would have ended up in Alexandria, not Lindblum. _

_So what happened to me? _

"I don't know," he replied softly. "I was there, but I didn't see what happened to you, or where you went. It was confusing. There was smoke, and ash, and fire..."

_That was caused by him. All that pain, all that suffering... _

"I won't make excuses for me, _or_ him. There are none. But it's the way things are, and we can't change what has already happened."

_I know that, but that doesn't mean that I can't wish that it didn't. _

"I was watching you for a while though. When you were down there in that village, and I felt a stab of jealously at the way you were treated – the way they acted towards you, and I encouraged Garland to act – to destroy the village sooner than expected. It was during this that I left Terra for good, and didn't return until recently."

_Was I...happy? _

"From what I could see, yes. They didn't think you were all that different, since they had horns, and you had a tail. They thought you too just had some special gift hidden inside of you, that's all."

_I bet I loved being there. I bet it was nice, and someone even considered me their son. I probably had a family, and lots of friends... _

"You did."

Zidane felt a sense of calm wash over him. He _had _had a family, and that family had been kind and nice to him. Perhaps that was why he felt like there was a special bond that connected him and his two summoner friends; because they had all been there in that village, if only two of them at the same time.

"You should be leaving, Zidane."

_I can't even see. Besides, I'm _not_ leaving you here to die. _

"I deserve death after everything I have done. I told you that before."

_You may have done some pretty rotten, low things, but you can do better. I know you can. We'll get out of here, and return to the place outside, and— _

"And then what?" he hissed softly. "You're friends have left, and you have no way of communicating with them. So how are you going to get back, if the tree even _lets_ you out?"

_You are the one telling me to leave. _

"Because the tree has become docile. It is at calm, and at ease, if only for now. If you leave without further discussion, then you should make it out before it can do anything."

_What about the world out there? There was thick mist everywhere, and terrible creatures. What will happen? _

"I'm not sure. Everything has gone wrong. I wasn't trying to restore the mist, because it has no real purpose anymore, at least not to me at the time, or even now. Its original purpose was to intone the will and lust of battles into people. Make them more vengeful, more hateful towards one another."

_And it did just that. When did the mist first appear? _

"I'm not all too sure, but it was several hundred years ago I expect. Now listen to me. Leave now before it is too late. My time is about up..."

_Kuja... _

"There is just one thing..." Zidane, who had been about to move away, felt Kuja keep him there as he tightened his grip on Zidane's hand, making it throb. "I want you to live your life to the fullest, and please try to understand what I did, and how I acted...I treated you so awfully.

"I hated you and loathed you without really knowing you, and I dropped you here on Gaia because I thought that you deserved to die, and to be miserable. But when you lived...

"I knew that there was something that I had to do that you wouldn't. I destroyed your home that I gave you, and I took away from her – the one you cared for so much – her Eidolons, and I threatened her life. And I made her suffer as well...

"And though I don't deserve it, and I shouldn't ask you, I wish for your forgiveness..."

_Kuja, I already have come to terms with what you have done, and the truth that you have opened my eyes to. But I can never forgive you, because if I do that, then I know that is like making an excuse, and saying that it was alright that all those people died, when it isn't. _

"I understand..."

He let his hand drop, and as Zidane sat up, and opened his eyes, he turned his head away; not paying attention to his surroundings. His eyes were narrowed in his sorrow, and he knew that though what he said was true, that perhaps it was best he hadn't said it.

_I'm sorry, Kuja... _

There was no response, and Zidane looked to his left, his right elbow on his knee, his other leg bent as he fought to stretch his tired limbs. He watched the older man as he looked back at him with understanding in his eyes as they slowly closed. Kuja's right hand, which had been resting on his chest for the last few moments, went limp and opened a little, revealing the three pieces of the crystal. Kuja's mouth hung loosely, his chest coming to a slow halt.

Zidane felt anger and sorrow welling up inside of him, but as he reached over to take the three remaining pieces from Kuja, he felt everything go numb. He wasn't sad, nor was he happy or hateful. And as he stood up, and looked back at Kuja over his shoulder, his words were soft, and they remained forever as a memory that floated around the inside of Lifa Tree, meaning nothing to no one except the one soul that was meant to hear them.

_Good-bye Kuja... _

_My enemy... _

_My brother... _

_My friend... _

* * *

_-  
_

**_Themed Song: _**"It Doesn't Matter" by Alison Krauss


	2. Unknown Memories of Her

There was hurt, and that sense of lost hope as he stumbled his way through and around the inside of Lifa Tree. The roots had struck everywhere within, especially in the middle of the tree where he had gone to find Kuja. Zidane wasn't even sure what had happened.

And now he just stumbled around, clutching to the three pieces of the crystal desperately. Zidane wasn't sure what had happened to the fourth, but he assumed that Garnet had simply taken it before the battle against that strange being when Kuja attempted to destroy the full crystal.

But he didn't really care at the moment. And why should he? He was stuck here, and he didn't know how to get out. Not only that, but how was he supposed to get back to everyone? Surely by now they thought him dead. Who knows how long he had been down there. It felt like it had been forever.

Zidane's body was weak, and his limbs did not respond all that well. His stomach was sore, and his head spun. His mouth was so dry; he did not think that he could say another word. He was slouched over as he told himself mentally that he must keep going. He knew that if he gave up now, then Kuja's death would all be for nothing; that his own actions would mean nothing.

He gave a deep sigh, and stopped next to one of the roots, his right hand resting on it. Breathing heavily now as perspiration broke out onto his face, he slouched over.

Zidane straightened after a moment of rest, despite his aching back, as he became alert. His mouth parted slightly, and his deep blue eyes widened as the scenery around him shown in an eerie green. There was a presence there; not just one, but many.

Zidane knew that they were the souls Life Tree's roots has gathered up; that he was in the heart of the tree, where the spirits dwelt, bouncing off of their prison walls. They had nowhere to go. They were tortured beings that would never be released, that would never be allowed to rest.

He gazed up at the floating blue mist that was formed into sphere shapes, and yet, they didn't really have a shape to them at all. An eerie sound drifted through the air that made the youth shudder slightly. A felt great sorrow overtook him, and Zidane grimaced in their misery.

"I know how you feel," Zidane told them softly. "For I am trapped here too."

Looking around, he could now see where he was. Confirming the fact that he was in a see of vines, on a platform with souls floating all around him, Zidane gave an involuntary jerk of his leg. Things didn't seem very hopeful. He gave another deep sigh, and continued on around the vines in the same direction he had been heading. He could see little around him, and wasn't even sure if the way he was going was the right way. After all, he had ridden the raging vines to the point where he fell not too far from Kuja's final resting place.

Then, as he rounded the corner of a larger vine, Zidane found himself on a platform that overlooked the small green trunk covered in vines. It was where he and his friends had first come to when they had visited Lifa Tree, still unaware of what it was, and that Kuja was the one helping the souls flow from Gaia to Terra.

There was a leaf on the other platform, and he knew that it led down to where the strange creature that had originally produced the mist had been. He and his friends had destroyed that creature, and yet still the mist somehow came back. He shrugged it off for now, telling himself that there was no point in worrying about it.

Taking in a deep breath, the youth braced himself tiredly. Stepping back cautiously, Zidane took stance, inhaling deeply. Sprinting towards the edge, he leaped off with all his might, aiming for the other platform. As realization of the distance struck him, all Zidane could see were the rapid images of his friends' faces in his mind, smiling and beckoning him on.

But as he fell, his left hand clasped the edge, and he dug in his fingers through his oversized glove. Baring his teeth as he struggled to keep a hold, Zidane gave a grunt as he tried to swing his other arm up to it. His body was sore, and there was little life left in it. He did this several times, each time feeling his grip of his left hand loosen little by little.

As he finally managed to clasp that edge, the panting youth struggled with his feet to push himself up over the side. Scrambling up now, Zidane crouched on hands and knees, breathing hard, perspiration breaking out on his forehead as he attempted to gather his scattered senses.

Getting clumsily to his feet after a few moments, Zidane let his head clear before stepping forward gingerly, and past the leaf lift. Stepping up onto a brown, twisted branch, he grimaced at the sight of this part of the inside of the tree. It was damp and dark, and that strange green misted floated up at several spots as he wound his way up the and through the great jostle of vines.

Then, with a sigh of relief, Zidane recognized the roughly honed, stone platform that would lead him up. Stepping onto it, he felt the small jolt as it responded, and felt himself being uplifted. A sense of relief and expectancy ran through him as he parted from darkness into scattered, dim light. Now there he stood, out in the air, even if it wasn't fresh air.

Stepping out of the area, he climbed slowly down the twisting green vines. Feeling light headed as the ground below zoomed in and out of focus, the youth came to a shaky halt. Legs trembling, Zidane swallowed hard, trying to push down his fears. He had never been scared of heights before his trip to attempt to save his brother.

Head spinning, the man took an uneasy step forward. Feeling his soft boots slip against the rough side of the vine, Zidane instinctively reached his hands out. Slipping off the side, the air screaming through his ears, he felt his hands strike something large and clasped for it.

Legs twisting and swinging in the air helplessly, breath coming sharply, Zidane put sway into his motion. Wrapping his tail around the vine to get a hold, he swung his legs up, and clasping around the trunk, eased himself up and over the side. Remaining there for several moments, breathing hard, the youth finally pushed himself to his feet.

He cautiously made his way down the vine, hurrying as the last few feet came into view. Leaping down into the space and the entrance of the _sanctuary_, as the dwarves of Conde Petie called it, he released a deep breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

Walking through the space between the two rocks that jolted up on either side, he turned around to face the tree as its roots squirmed around in a foreboding rage. A strong wind blew his dirty blonde hair into his face, making his eyes squint. He swore that if he could avoid it, he would _never _return to this place again.

-

* * *

-

On the mountain path that led from Lifa Tree to either Conde Petie or the destroyed city of Madain Sari, he found himself at fault. Which way to turn? No matter which way he went, he would be stuck. But he really needed food, and fresh water. His strength was giving out, and he feared going to sleep in case he didn't wake up.

Taking the left path, he walked down it numbly, his feet stumbling over one another. It was night, and the mist still thickly covered the planet, making it difficult to see where it was he was stepping. He had reached the fork, and gave a sigh of relief knowing it was close. Perhaps Eiko had returned to her home there, and she could help him. Or the moogles that lived there could give him shelter.

Stepping off the path, Zidane gave a relieved sigh as he saw the destroyed village a little ways off. He supposed that it would be late by the time he got there, but at least it was close, and he could finally rest.

-

* * *

-

Stepping up to the village entrance, he glanced at the destroyed house to the right, and it felt like it was familiar. It was one of the larger buildings of the village, but he didn't know what it was, or why it seemed so important. Sighing, he headed down the hard packed, dirt street, and entered the town square.

It was quiet and peaceful. There appeared to not be a soul around. The village was incredibly small, and as he slouched down onto one of the chipped, stone benches, elbows resting on his knees and head slouched forward in exhaustion, he felt his eyes begin to twitch horribly. Running his right arm over them in an attempt to wake himself up, he dropped it.

He couldn't fight it for much longer. He was exhausted, hungry, and he needed water. His back was screaming at him after that fall in Lifa Tree, and his arms and legs felt like they were about to fall off.

And as his eye lids drooped, he could feel the numbness that overtakes those who are about to sleep. He fought to keep them open, but it was no use. He fell face first into the dirt, already in deep slumber.

-

* * *

-

There was darkness, and at first, for a fleeting moment, Zidane feared that he was still there, stuck in the darkening depths of Lifa Tree. But as his eyes fluttered open, he found himself on the dirt ground, staring at the base of the other stone bench.

His body moaned and protested as he pushed himself up to peer around him. It was still dark out, but he sensed that it was getting closer and closer to sunrise. Right hand on knee, he used his left to push himself to his feet. He desperately needed nutrition, though the rest had restored some of his body strength. For this he was grateful.

Stretching his limbs, he headed right to where he knew that Eiko had lived when he had first met her. He spotted the house, and just stood there for a moment, looking at it. There were no sounds of the moogles. Walking over to the railing, he peered down at the sea water below as a strong wind blew, and his eyes went misty as he saw it, remembering what he had seen in that place of reminiscences.

Walking away, he stepped through the doorway and into the broken, stone building. He looked around the kitchen, at the round table and the bookshelf to one side with the dusty volumes on it. There were abandoned papers and plates scattered around, but so far there wasn't a sign of anyone.

Frowning, he edged himself around the table, and into the kitchen. Walking past the stove and between the bench and wall, he crouched down to search the cupboard. There was no roof to this part of the house, and the early morning's stars gave a soft glow to the kitchen.

Grabbing at some vegetables and fruit that still looked good, he moved to sit at the table, stuffing the food greedily into his mouth as the juice dripped down from his lips and onto his shirt and all over the unpolished, wooden table.

As he finished it, the lightest rays of the sun began to appear. He looked up, rubbing his mouth with the back of his right hand. He felt much better now, and standing up, he headed down the steps, and then down a few more into a little room. As he looked around, he was disappointed to find that Eiko wasn't here.

Pulling his deep blue vest over his head, he reached into his loose, cotton white shirt, and pulled out the three crystal pieces. Looking down at them, he gave a slight frown as they glinted from the light cascading in from the doorway.

One, the Falcon Claw, was carved in a crescent moon shape. The claw was made of the crystal with a bronze hilt on it. It was hung on a silver cord. He sighed, remembering the first time that he saw it, above the throne in Lindblum when he had first met the Regent Cid.

The smallest one was shaped into a sphere. It glowed a purple hue, and there was a hook on it that meant to hang from the ear. It had belonged to the people of Madain Sari who not only fought to keep it secret, but also cherished it deeply.

The last was a red ruby, perfectly shaped in the form that one might expect to find a crystal, or want a crystal in. It glowed such a bright red, that it almost hurt to look at the Sand Ruby.

He sighed, unsure of what to do with these pieces. If he left them here, no one may ever find them, but if they did, then they would have three of the four pieces, and that may not be the greatest thing. But if he kept them, than they could be taken almost as easily.

Tucking them back into his white shirt, he stepped back up the steps and into the kitchen before stepping onto the table. Looking down as the rush of the small waterfall fell into the rapids below, he bit his lower lip, still unsure of what it was he was about to do. So instead, he took a deep breath, and leapt down.

He landed, his hands brushing the ground, on the rock outcrop of the small cove that housed the wooden vessel that had brought the tired Garnet and her mother to Alexandria that night some ten years ago.

As he looked at the pathetic, little craft, he felt a well of sorrow fill him, and his mind went back to that night of the hateful storm. He felt the rain, and heard the fire crackle angrily, and smelled burning flesh. But then the lightning flashed and there was a crack, and it was gone. He was just someone standing there, near a craft, reminiscing about things he could barely remember.

Stepping in the rickety boat lightly, he let the rope go. It began drifting out of the cove with a little guidance of his hand as he bent to paddle himself a little to the right, and out into the sunrise. He let the ship drift slightly back and forth not too far out from the village.

He stared at the wall, and he gasped at the sight Garnet had beheld a few months before. The way the lights danced on it, it made the prized wall of the summoner village seem as if it were on fire. He gave a deep shudder, and suddenly he was standing in that craft as it was thrown back and forth in the ferocious tide as a storm raged all around him. He fought to keep hold of the side of the boat, the wind whipping at him sharply, and he had to bare his teeth to keep himself from yelling out.

The rain was relentless, and it soaked him, making his clothing heavy. His eyes narrowed in disbelief as he saw who was in the boat beside him. There was the little girl that had grown up to be the one that he'd fallen in love with. She looked at him, her face fearful, her eyes wide, as she clung to the other side.

He stared back, and though he was unsure if she could see him or not, he wanted to believe that she could. Sitting in the bow behind her daughter was Garnet's mother, and he felt a sting of guilt as he looked at this woman. She looked so much like Garnet, that he found himself suddenly missing the princess more than ever before.

The mother, Jane as he remembered, looked at him through the hood of her cloak, her raven black hair surrounding her face, and her eyes narrowed as she met the stranger's eyes. He looked away slowly, not wanting to catch this woman's gaze; that accusing gaze as if this were all his fault…

But then he felt that strange presence, and looking up to the sky suddenly, his expression went from sorrowful to angry as he spotted that hateful airship, the Invincible. He knew that on there was Garland, and it was from there that the ray of light would come down to destroy the summoner village.

As he looked at the village, coated with flames, as ash entered the air, making it hard to breathe, he prepared himself for the memory he knew that haunted his dreams. The one he could never retain when he awoke.

The light came down into the center, like it had done on the castle of Alexandria, and there was a brief moment of silence. But then flames began to spread and rise in flourish sweeps, reaching out across the water. Debris went in each direction, and Zidane ducked at the sight of his home's demolition.

As he swung his head to the little girl, he saw how fearful she was as the boat rocked crazily, and then he saw the look on Jane's face as her eyes went wide, and she raised her hand to her face, head leant back, reaching out for him.

Zidane reached his left hand out for her desperately, the rain coming down thicker, and the tides rocking so violently he knew that the craft would capsize at the slightest of wrong movements. He called out for her, his voice trying to reach above the din of the storm as he whipped his hair out of his face, revealing the tears that ran fluently down his cheeks, mixed in with the rain.

And then they were gone, and he sat there, right arm clinging to the side of the ship, his left arm held out still, his fingers twitching as he saw where her hand had been a moment before, so close to his. There were still tears in his eyes and on his face, but his clothing was dry, and the sky was clear as the last rays appeared. The tides were calm again.

His fingers twitched once more before he dropped his arm and slouched his shoulders in defeat. Resting his back against the side of the ship, elbows propped up on his knees; Zidane tilted his head back over the side, eyes closed, taking in deep breaths.

What had happened? It had all seemed so real, though he knew that that part wasn't supposed to have him in it. That was Garnet's memory, just hers, but now it was his also. Forming his hands into fists, he pounded them down on his knees, his arms shaking as sobs racked his body.

"What have I done to deserve something like this?" he whispered softly, opening his eyes slightly. "Who wants me to see this? What is it about these memories that are so important, that I have to relive them, even when they are not my own? Why? Why…"

* * *

-

**_Themed Song:_** "Here Without You" by Three Doors Down


	3. Long Forgetting Thoughts

Zidane lay on the top of the summoner wall that night, staring up at the stars that littered the sky. He moved his right hand around in the air above him, tracing the invisible lines between the lights, his other hand resting on his chest. His eyes narrowed as he traced the outline of Garnet's face. Giving a sigh, he closed his eyes and dropped his arm to hang over the side.

"What has happened to me, I wonder…that I would remained so transfixed on one woman? What is it about her that makes her so…"

He opened his eyes, still seeing the outline in his mind's eye. There was something so strange about all of this. He felt like there was something wrong, something more than to what Kuja had led him on to believe.

"What did you mean, Kuja? What were you trying to tell me?"

Of course there was no answer, and he gave a deep sigh, closing his eyes again. Zidane hadn't been able to sleep, and right then he wished that he _hadn't _left them to go to Lifa Tree. If he had boarded that airship, he would be nice and comfortable, talking and laughing with his friends, perhaps saying farewells to those he might not see again.

But at least then he would know where they were, and if they were all okay. He knew that they must have been worried about him, and had probably headed back to Lifa Tree to search for him, which of course would be pointless. Not only was he not there, but also the tree had flowed out of its docile trance.

Zidane wasn't sure where they would look next, or even if they _were _looking for him. Not after the way he had treated them, and then abandoning them for the man that they had been pursuing to kill for some time now. He said that he was going to go save him, and he was told that he was being foolish, and that he was an imbecile. But for some reason Zidane didn't care, and had gone anyway.

He could see the look on Garnet's face as the Invincible took off. Zidane had stood there on the hard ground, staring up at her, trying to keep his face blank as a strong wind blew. Her tear stained face was implanted into his mind, and the look of her as she moved as if to lean forward and shout something still was caught there as if it were happening right then, but he was watching from the side lines.

Zidane felt his own eyes go misty as he watched the pair, and the stern expression that had overtaken his plain one. It had been that look that had stopped her from yelling out to him. And as the airship pulled away, he watched Garnet leaning over the side, brushing her short hair over an ear as she tried to catch one last glimpse of him, and then Zidane watched himself walk away.

The youth wished he could go back and tell that bumbling idiot to stop, and get on that airship, and be with the one he loved. But he knew that even if he _were_given the chance, he wouldn't have, because it was now that he knew that there was more to his past than he had thought, and he was drawn to it. It was not something he could just ignore. Zidane did not know how long it would take, but he would find out everything about himself that there was to know, no matter what, and one day he would return to his friends. He was sure it wouldn't be any time soon.

"I will return to you all one day, that I promise, but please…until then, be patient…" His voice was low, but it carried up over the village. "Cause there will come a time when we are all reunited, and I look forward to that day…"

Sighing, he continued to glance up at those stars, his mind drifting to thoughts of his friends, and everything that they had been through the six months or so that they had been together, and as his eyes slowly closed, his exhaustion and full belly finally giving in. For a moment, Zidane thought that he could hear his beloved, singing that memorable song that he had heard just a few times, and yet knew so well.

-

* * *

-

Zidane was unsure at first what it was that had awoken him. As his eyes fluttered open, and he yawned and stretched out, almost falling over, Zidane became suddenly alert. Resting his hands on the inner edge of the wall, he turned sharply, almost leaning all the away over, as he tried to find the source of the strange, beautiful melody.

Using his right hand, he leaped off onto the ground, landing with a soft thud as he strode out of the circular area that the Eidolon Wall surrounded, protecting its secrets with those buried around it.

He cast his sight around desperately for the soft melody. It carried over the air, and it was the song of the summoners, the song of memories. He had heard Garnet sing it a few times, and Eiko as well.

Striding into the center square, he gazed around him, and then came to a sudden halt, his mouth dropping open, and his clear eyes widening. Sitting on the stone bench, her back to him was the source of this beautiful voice.

"W-Who are you?" he asked in awe and disbelief that someone else was here.

The stranger turned some way to look at him over her right shoulder, and her beauty took him aback. She had long, deep brown hair that reached down past her back to lay over the bench edge a little. It was flowing, there were long pieces in front of her, and bangs parted to the right. Her pupils were an attentive golden color with cream filled into them, catching Zidane's gaze immediately..

The man suddenly blushed, realizing that she had obviously been here before, and he had walked in on her. He shifted his eyes away a little, and his tail twitched as he tried to speak without startling this young woman even more.

"Listen, I'm sorry if I interrupted—"

"Oh, no," she said a little quickly, shaking her head as she quickly stood.

She was about his height, maybe an inch or two smaller. She didn't wear the typical clothing style that he expected a woman to wear. Instead of skirts or some fine, flashy material, she wore street clothes.

Her outfit consisted of a pair of black breeches that hung a little loose on her with a cord that ran from her side to the black belt that was buckled around her neck. Her waist belt was strapped tightly around her slender waist. Her loose, oversized white shirt was tucked carelessly into her belt. On her feet, instead of the high-heeled boots that women commonly wore, she wore firm, knee-high ones instead. Her black-gloved hands were at her sides as she peered at him, her head tilted a little back and to the side as she continued on a little more slowly.

"You see, I was sitting here, and I just got here not too long ago…" Blinking, raising her tone, she added hesitantly, "I did not expect to see someone else here…This place was destroyed some ten years ago, so I expected there would little, if any, survivors. Are you…a _survivor_?" The woman's breath caught on the last word, as if she dared believe it true.

"Oh, me?" said Zidane a little surprised. He then gave a deep sigh. "No of course not. I am not a summoner, and my place is not here, well, at least, I do not, and did not belong here."

"Why not?" she asked curiously. "Anyone was welcome here, at least that is the way it was when I was last here…"

She looked down at the ground, and her face became grim. Zidane had the distinct feeling that he was not the only one that had come for the reminder of their memories. Sorrow filled his eyes as he studied this young woman.

"How were you related to this place?" he asked softly. Her eyes shifted up to look at him as she spoke. He noticed that there was a slight accent to it, and it had a melodic tone.

"I grew up in various places, but I was nine when this place was destroyed," she admitted softly, hands shifting uncomfortably behind her back.

Zidane's eyes went wide. This woman was a survivor of that night! She had been there, here, in the village where he had spent some time, if only a few months, with these people.

"I-I can't believe it," he said lightly, letting out the simplest of laughs.

"Hey!" she said, suddenly becoming angry. "What? You don't believe me?"

"No!" said Zidane quickly, leaping back. "I didn't mean that! You see, I too am a survivor, but I have little clue as to what happened here while I was here…" He straightened and frowned. She took a few steps towards him, and looked at him straight-faced. He was unsure of what she was doing. The expressionless look she gave him was a bit unnerving.

"My name is Rennet," she pronounced kindly.

"Uh," he murmured. "My name is Zidane…"

"Mmm, Zidane," she said softly, lovingly, as she tilted her head to the side, a warm smile on her lips, and her eyes twinkling. "I like that name." She turned and walked a few steps before turning around to him suddenly. "You said you lived here in this village?"

"Yeah," he said grimly.

"When?"

"I am guessing about ten years ago," he replied, quirking one eyebrow at her. "Why? I can barely remember anything…"

"Well," Rennet replied slowly. "You see, I left here, and then came back several times. The village leader was fearful for my life because of my power. He _knew_that something was going to happen to this village, so he sent me away and brought me back through the course of nine years. And then I came back, and shortly after we were attacked…"

"Yeah," said Zidane, frowning slightly. "I was here when it happened, and so was my friend…" There was silence between them as they looked away from one another, lost in thoughts of the dreadful occurrence.

"Zidane…"

He looked at Rennet, unsure of what to say should she ask him something. But she wasn't looking at him, and instead seemed to be focusing on something that seemed just out of her reach.

"Why are you here?" she asked, looking at him. He paused before answering.

"I am not that sure," he admitted. "I suppose that I am searching. I have just learned that I had an existence here, and I came to see if my friend might be here, but she isn't…"

"Oh, I see," she said with a simple nod. "So what will you do now?"

"I don't know," he replied slowly. "I might remain here until I can perhaps remember something more. If I don't figure out who I really am…"

"Then it is as bad as being nobody…"

-

* * *

-

Zidane sat at the table, left leg folded under the other, and his tail swaying back and forth as his mind went through his conversation with Rennet. She was strangely quiet but open, and he could not find her within his few memories of Madain Sari, and his life there.

It was only about an hour or two after he had met up with her, so it was still dark out and well into the night. He was guessing that it was roughly in the early morning. He gave a deep sigh. She had gone to sleep in the destroyed home that had once housed her family.

"Zidane?"

He turned to her in the doorway. Standing there, she looked almost as if she had floated down, much like an angel would. She had clearly been trying to recuperate herself, and he closed his lips, his top one overlapping the bottom for a moment as his eyes showed her pity.

"No," said Rennet, shaking her head slowly. "Do not pity me, Zidane. I am not the only one that lost someone."

"Yeah, well," he said numbly. "I can't remember them, or the time I spent with them. I probably ran away from everyone when the storm hit."

"I wouldn't know," she said softly. "But somehow I doubt it. You don't seem to be like that, and you seem to care for them, regardless of who they are. Were they family, or…"

"I guess they were like family," he said, turning his head away. "But they weren't _my _family. I have no family now."

"But…you did once…" He looked at her, his face expressionless, though she could detect the grimness at the sides of his mouth and in his eyes. "I am so sorry for you, Zidane, but…" She broke off, shaking her head slowly.

Zidane turned away from her, and after a moment Rennet strode over to him. Crouching down in front of him, the girl peered at him, her yellow eyes intense as she spoke, her voice ringing and firm.

"Zidane, I know what it is like to lose family, trust me," she told him, and yet he still didn't look at her. "But I do not let it affect the way I live _now_. You have to move on with _your _life so that their death will mean something more, if only to you.

"Others may never know about their death, or your grieving for the people who have met their demise around you, but I will, and you will, and they will. You must understand that we are no longer in a world where everyone is happy, and is with their family…"

"I know," he whispered softly. "But that doesn't mean that it will hurt any less."

"I know," she admitted humbly with a nod. "It is never good when you have to be the one to stand up for others, and in return, you have to lose. With victory, there is loss, and that is the truth that most people don't wish to see.

"But Zidane, you, I believe that with you, good can be brought to many people, and perhaps, in return this time, you will receive more than that which is taken away…"

"What makes you so sure?" Zidane's voice was tight, as if he wanted to believe her, give in to her words, but something still held him back.

"I'm not," Rennet admitted with a noticeable grimace. "I will not lie to you. I may be completely wrong, but it is the feeling I have, and all I can do is let you know that I believe in you."

"How can you treat a complete stranger like this?"

"Because it doesn't feel like you're a stranger," she whispered softly, leaning in. He looked at her in surprise. "There is something about you…

"The way you act, the way talk, and your pain…it is all so familiar, that I feel that I _must _have known you when you were here. But, you see, there was so much going on when I was here, my memories are mixed up. It took me a while to remember where my house was…" She gave an empty laugh. At the look on Zidane's face, she added quietly, "Come on, when you're down, sometimes you must laugh in spite of everything, in spite of all the bad and the grieving."

"You're truly something else," Zidane noted admirably. She offered him a warm smile. "That song…the song of summoners, the song of memories, will you please sing it?"

Rennet nodded, not asking why he was attracted to that song, and began to sing. It drifted around them, and Zidane felt calm and peace begin to rekindle inside of him as someone lit a match.

-

* * *

-

Zidane sat at the cove, his knees up, and elbows resting on them as he bathed his feet in the chilly water. He gazed around him, lost in his own thoughts. Rennet too had a few memory problems, and he wondered if he felt connected to her because he knew her from some past experiences.

He turned to look over his shoulder at her as she walked over to him, and sat down. Straightening his shoulders, Zidane couldn't bring himself to look at her. She had taken off her boots, and was now dipping her small, curved feet in the water as well, swaying them, watching the ripples the motion made.

"I have been thinking," she said softly. They still didn't face each other, "I have decided to leave here soon. There is nothing here for me anymore but painful memories, and I don't think I can stand anymore of them…"

"Where will you go?" he asked simply.

"Back to where I was before, I suppose," she answered slowly. "Though there is little there for me now." She gave a deep sigh, slowly her feet's movement. "Zidane, you do know about the legend of the crystals, right?" She tilted her head a little to look at him, and he looked at her sharply, his heart beating wildly.

"The crystals…there is a legend?"

"Well, yes," she said. "There are four pieces to a crystal. The crystal had enormous power, and became dangerous, so it was split into four pieces." She looked up, as though looking to the past. "There used to be many, many crystals…" She turned back to him. "_So_ many…and they were worshipped."

"What happened?" asked Zidane lightly, caught up in this tale.

"Well, forces continuously came and destroyed them," she replied. "But the original four crystals were small, held in the hands of four warriors. The warriors were said to be able to restore them, and bring light back to the world, and to disperse the darkness…" She drifted off, giving a twist of her mouth.

"After they did so though, the crystals were placed in caves and hidden places, and they were left there. It was there that they remained unseen for many years before someone finally came across them. They had become larger, and they granted power to all who deserved it."

"So what happened?"

"They were destroyed," she replied softly. "But before that, there proved to be many more than expected. Four above ground, four below, and eight more on the moon."

"The moon…"

"Yeah," said Rennet with a nod. "They kept the seal on a terrible force, and they guided young warriors to that force, to destroy it once and for all. They used a special crystal to do so, and almost all the crystals were destroyed. The only ones left were the original four, which were placed into shrines."

"I never knew that…"

"Most don't," she said with a smile. "This is something that I was told."

"So what happened to the original four?"

"Well," she said slowly. "Someone came along and destroyed them, at the shrines. And some opposed that evil, and they used the crystal shards to help them, and after that evil was killed, there were no more crystals. The shards lost their glow, and broke apart."

"So how do we have the pieces of the crystal now?" he asked anxiously, getting confused.

"Because," she said with a slight smirk. "That supposed crystal was the one left behind with the original four after the moon incident. No one bothered to look for it after the evil was destroyed, and so it was found many years ago, and split into four pieces.

"One was given to Alexandria, one to Lindblum, and one to Cleyra. The last was given to the people here, in Madain Sari, in case anything ever happened, and some evil force rose up to take them, they would never be able to complete it unless they knew it was here."

"So it ends with that? Those last four pieces are what is left of all those crystals?"

"That's the thing," she said slowly. "Most people believe that that is true, but some think that there is another crystal, somewhere in pieces, perhaps all in the hands of the same person. There are writings of entrusting the pieces to a few people."

"Why are you telling me this?" Zidane asked softly. Rennet reached her hand over, and pulled back that hem of his shirt at the top, revealing the rip that housed the three pieces.

"They may not make much of a bulge, but I caught the glimpse of one…"

She moved her hand away, and Zidane looked at her, unsure of what to make of her more now than ever. She was surprising him more and more as they talked. Rennet was so strange, but Zidane didn't feel strange around her.

"Do you think," he said slowly. "That we knew each other here, when we were young? I can't remember much, but…"

"We might have," she broke in. "At least I feel that we might have. It was a small village, and though I wasn't here long, I am sure I must have met you at some point or another, right?"

"Do you think we were friends?" he persisted in a whisper. She smiled at him.

"I think we were," answered Rennet warmly. "We seem to get along pretty well, so why not? I hope we were, that way it is a little more comforting…"

"So where are you going back to?" he asked seemingly simply.

"I have to go back to those who took care of me when I was little," she replied. "I hope that nothing has happened to them. I have been away for many years…"

Breaking off, Rennet glanced down at her swaying feet. Zidane didn't persist, nor did he say anything more. Rennet's eyes showed s troubled past, and he didn't want to pick at that area too much.

-

* * *

-

It was three days since he had set out from Lifa Tree, and already Zidane felt the difference in his life. Everything was going to change again, and the man knew that no matter how prepared he thought he would be, he could never be prepared for the truth.

He stood at the Eidolon wall, watching Rennet as she crouched there in front of it, locked in deep prayer. She had been like this since sunrise, and Zidane had stood there just as long. It was now nearing mid afternoon. She suddenly, slowly raised her head.

"Zidane, I want to do something…" He was unsure of what she meant, but waited patiently. "I want to do something about what happened here. I want to show everyone that there were people here, and that they suffered, and I want to show them all how good people they were."

"I think that that is a good idea," he agreed slowly with a nod. "I know you can do it, Rennet, because you lived here, and that is who they need to hear it from."

"Right," she said, nodding, registering this statement. "And…what will you do?"

He walked over to stand beside her. She looked up at him, but he was looking away, his face hidden by the loose locks of his hair. His voice was low, and sorrow filled that young woman as she heard it.

"I don't know," he said softly. "I don't know how to get off of this continent, and…besides that, I cannot face my friends until I have found out who I really am, who I was…"

"Zidane…"

"And to do that…" He looked down at her, his eyes focused and she felt that intensity in them burn through her. "I am going with you. I know that you will be able to help me, but I want to help you as well, because you and I have some kind of connection, and you came here. And you helped me, so I want to help you…"

"Thank you…"

Rennet rose to her feet, and Zidane smiled warmly at her, his face and eyes lighting up. She smiled back, and they exchanged nods before leaving together.

* * *

-

**_Themed Song: _**"Here I Am" by Bryan Adams


	4. Loneliness, Thy Name Rings True

The path that led to Conde Petie seemed longer than ever as Zidane and Rennet walked side by side. Zidane kept glancing over at her, seeing if she caught his eye, to see if he could perhaps see in her face what it was she was thinking. But when she turned to him with a smile, he would blush, and face the path again.

Reaching the fork that led to Conde Petie and Lifa Tree, Zidane stopped, and watched his companion as she walked forward a few steps before stopping and turning to him. Her expression was puzzled, and he wanted to say something, but then something caught his eye.

Withdrawing his daggers, he swung back around him, catching a blue colored fox-like fiend in the side, splitting it in half. Its weapons dropped to the ground. Straightening slowly, Zidane turned cautiously back to her. Despite the assault, Rennet seemed at ease, as if it hadn't happened.

"It's becoming worse," she said softly. "Day by day more of them come…"

She shook her head, and Zidane sheathed his daggers before they continued. He stayed behind her, but close, watching for any signs of fiends. As they neared Conde Petie, he came to a sudden stop.

Looking up at the branch between two cliff edges, he gave a weird twist of his mouth. It was here that they had first met Eiko. The little thief had gotten herself stuck on the end of that branch as her moogle flew away at the sight of the group coming down the path. The little girl had squirmed and begged them to get her down, and when she had fallen, Zidane had caught her. He had known then that there was something strange about this little girl.

Snapping back to the present, he realized that Rennet was calling to him a little further up the path. Running to catch up, they climbed the slope and entered the market of Conde Petie, village of the dwarves.

It seemed a little busier now, and as he looked around at the people gathered at the market, he remembered how he and Garnet had gotten married here to pass through to the sanctuary. He wondered if she now considered that arrangement permanent between them. He wasn't sure if he wanted that or not.

"What's wrong?"

Zidane snapped to attention suddenly, realizing that he had once again been staring at the older woman. Blushing lightly, the youth mumbled an apology. She just stared at him hard for a moment before heading down the street.

Following and puzzled by her reaction, Zidane was surprised at the number of Black Mages he passed. He searched the faces desperately for any Genomes, and did his best to hide his identity from those here. Stopping at a stall, Zidane eased a cloak away while the disgusting, green glob of a Conde Petie citizen was busy, pulling the black hood up over his head. Rennet watched him quizzically as she waited patiently, but didn't say anything.

They had reached the inner part of the village now. After snatching them some fruit, Zidane lead the way upstairs to where he and Garnet had received the blessing. He looked at the place, a carriage set up over a gap in the stone pyramid-like village, with an alter set up higher before it. The sunlight here shown beautifully to bless the hold place, fresh vines and vegetation curling around the structures giving it a calm, natural appeal.

Seeing Rennet walk past him, he followed, and they had reached the other entrance to Conde Petie when he gave out a sigh of relief. But then he went rigid as he heard someone call him.

"Zidane?!"

Turning, he half expected to see Garnet stride over to him, hands on her hips and tears in her eyes as she began to scold him, but it wasn't her. His blue eyes widened, and he dropped the half eaten fruit in his right hand at the sight of his 'younger sister'.

Mikota was similar to him, but she was slightly shorter, and a few years younger. Her hair was the same dirty blonde shade but unlike his, it wasn't held back and down, but cropped in a similar style at the shoulders. She stopped a few feet away from him, face a mix between disbelief and seriousness.

"Zidane, is that…really you?"

"Uh, hi Mikota," he said softly. What could he say to her? How could he explain this situation?

"You're…_alive_?" she said, trying to keep her voice straight, and Zidane felt a smirk creep up onto his face, despite himself.

"Yeah, go figure, huh?"

"I went to Lifa Tree, and you were not there," she said softly. "I couldn't find Kuja, and I thought…" Her voice picked up a hint of anxiety, as her mind stressed over the foundation of the situation.

"We were pretty deep in," replied Zidane a little awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably. This wasn't really the place to discuss what had happened, and he knew Rennet must have felt left out. "I…." He glanced unsurely at his companion, but Rennet just stood, surveying the discussion thoughtfully.

"It has been a week and a half since you stayed there," Mikota assured him quickly. Zidane could only stare at his sister. Had it really been _that _long?!

"Listen, Mikota," he said softly, picking his words carefully. "I can't go back just yet…"

"And why not?" she demanded, getting angry now. Her tail twitched in a sign of irritation. Had it been any other discussion, Zidane would have found it cute.

"There are some things that I must figure out first," he replied. "It will all be too confusing if I go back now, and I will just have to leave. I don't know what will happen on this journey, so I don't want to risk getting everyone involved…"

"Then go!" snapped Mikota, brow narrowing in her fury.

"Please," Zidane whispered desperately. "Don't tell anyone that you saw me. Just tell them that you couldn't find me…"

"I don't know why I should," she snapped, turning away from him.

"Mikota, please! Do this one last thing for me!" She looked at him over her shoulder, and seemed to be studying him. Then the girl gave a deep sigh and a nod.

"Alright," she said quietly. "I won't say anything about what happened here…"

Then the girl walked off, leaving Zidane not at fault about what she had just promised him, but at what to do. _Should_ he go? True, he didn't know exactly _how _he would get back, but shouldn't he at least try? They were, after all, his friends, and they had been there for him when he himself hadn't been.

"Zidane…"

He looked at the older woman, and frowned. Zidane had forgotten that she was there. Rennet had had to see that, and he wondered how she felt about it, but her face was expressionless.

"Right," he said glumly with a nod. "Let's go."

-

* * *

-

Nothing was as it seemed, and Zidane knew this. Everything could easily be twisted to _sound _like it was the truth when it wasn't. He sat on the path outside the village, looking to the east of him to where he knew that the Black Mage Village rested. Mikota lived there with the Black Mages, black skinned creatures developed to use magic in war. He frowned, wondering what it was he should do. To go there would mean he would have to face a part of his not-too-distant-past, and he wasn't sure that was too great of an idea at the time. If he didn't go, then he would have to face the past he did not yet know, and that could be, and probably was, worse.

"You don't know where to turn, do you?" Zidane watched Rennet as she sat down beside him, looking in the direction he had been.

"Rennet…" He looked at the hidden village as well. "No, I don't know."

"Sometimes the path is unclear," she whispered softly, and a warm breeze blew as she spoke. Zidane felt the calmness of it, and let it fill him. "When the time comes to decide…"

"I chose once," he said simply. "I chose to stay with them, instead of going. If I had left my friends, then they wouldn't have been my friends, and all of this wouldn't have happened. I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I hadn't stayed, if I hadn't decided to save her…"

"Do you ever think that it might have been better?" she asked. Zidane didn't look at her as he spoke. Instead, he toyed with a blade of grass, his elbows propped up on his knees.

"What? To never know who I really was?" He looked at her, but she didn't say anything, and instead, he directed his attention to the setting sun. "Sometimes I do wonder, but I think that it is better this way…because then I would be left with so many questions that I would never find answers to."

"So what will you do now?" Rennet prompted daringly, looking at him. "You have the choice, Zidane. It is yours alone."

"I already made it," he replied softly with a nod.

"And yet you can still make another to change that one," the girl noted, her voice strained a little. He still didn't look at her as he spoke.

"What about you? Where will you go?"

"Like I said," she whispered, also turning to the setting sun. "Back to them. I have to see them sometime, and it has been many years. I miss them, and I want them to know that I didn't leave because I didn't care…"

"That is not what I meant," he said after a moment. "I meant, would you be alright, all on your own?" She looked at him.

"I'm not alone," Rennet responded softly. "Because I have them here, with me…" She put the back of her right hand to her chest. "Here, in my heart. That is where everything really is…our memories, our love…" She looked at the orange-red sky. "I will be fine as long as I can still move."

"I don't know what to do," Zidane admitted humbly now, turning his head slightly to look at her. "To give up on my past now and find a way home would mean walking away from something that will plague my mind for the rest of my life. But walking away from my friends could mean losing them. I can imagine their anger at me is great…"

"If they are your friends," Rennet began slowly. Now looking at him, she added more surely, "Then they will forgive you, and they will understand. If they don't, then they aren't much for friends. You would be better off forgetting them if that is the case."

"Yeah…well, I don't know anymore…"

"Listen to what it is inside of you, and listen to both sides. Find the one you want more, and go for that one because that is the one that will lead you back to the other…" He looked at her in astonishment, registering this fact. At the look, Rennet smiled at him now. But then she stood, and turned to leave. As Zidane faced the sun again, he heard her whisper in his ear…

"Watch the step in which the path you walk, for you may walk in the shadow of death, bringing it all around you as you turn the corner…

"And then you will be left with a dead end…and no one but yourself…"

-

* * *

-

Zidane heard the call of birds as he rounded the cliff to where he knew the land would lead him to Fossil Roo, the mines that would lead him back to the Mist Continent. Stopping as he was almost out of sight of Conde Petie, he saw Rennet distantly standing there on the right branch of the village entrance, watching him go.

He was taken aback to see that she appeared sad at his departure. Garnet suddenly flashed into his mind, and he saw the teary face that had made him all the more sure that what he was doing was right.

But as he watched Rennet, he didn't feel that way. He felt the urge to rush back up to her, and tell her he was sorry, and that of course he would come with her. Zidane also knew that he couldn't.

He had begun to walk again when he heard it. Stopping, he swung his head to look at her, and the song of memories filled him. A strong wind blew as he took a step forward, but he suddenly stopped. Was she…glowing?

It was true. There was a bright white light swaying around the woman. Running as fast as he could, and faster than ever before, he ran along the cliff, and around it, and up the slope where he knew Conde Petie and Rennet were waiting.

As both came into sight, he came to a skidded halt. That glowing white light surrounding the young woman, seemed to be emanating from Rennet herself, in a circular design that rotated around and within her. It was moving swiftly, and as it ran over her face, blocking it for a mere moment, he caught the faintest of smiles. As it looped away, he saw her eyes were closed in deep concentration.

There was a whistling sound as a light shot up out of her to the sky, beyond his sight, and then a moment later came crashing down to the ground just a few feet away, making him jump back with a jolt.

The light had become a strange being. It was like a fiend, but seemed more threatening than any he'd seen so far. It looked like a version of a dragon, but was red with many jutting out parts, and long horns and nose. It was larger, and much more faster than Garnet's Bahaumat was.

"Y-You're a…" Zidane could not even say it, let alone believe it.

"A summoner," Rennet finished for him with a nod. "Yes."

"But, you didn't have the horn," he whispered in awe.

"That is because they had to remove it to help keep me safe," she added. "But it is strange, because I can still understand them…"

"Why didn't you tell me…"

"Because I didn't know," she admitted, looking away a little shamefully. The strange Bahaumat had begun to fly in the air above them, and the light was gone. Rennet was back to the way she had been before. "I lived in the village, yes…but my family was an adoptive family, you see…"

"Oh," Zidane noted slowly, attempting to register this. "So…"

"Without the horn, we all assumed I wasn't a summoner," she said, looking away. "I never showed any signs of summoning, and I never did summoner strange creatures, but when I saw you walking away, I wanted to give you wings so that you may have the choice of flying to wherever it was you wanted to go. I wanted you to have no limits…"

"Rennet…"

Striding over slowly, stepping carefully, the once thief stood there in front of her for a moment before taking her in his arms. She just stood there, her hands drawn up to her chin tightly as he spoke.

"I can't tell you how much you have helped me," he continued softly. "And I am eternally grateful, but everything that I do, must be done by me, and on my own two feet. Cause then I cannot honestly say that I found the truth…"

"I know," she whispered softly. "I only wanted to help…"

"And you have," Zidane reassured her with a chuckle. "I wish there was some way that I could help you in return…" Then his eyes widened and his head went tilting back a little as he realized something. He pulled her away at arms length. "Wait, where is this place?"

"It is on the Mist Continent," she replied. "I knew that it was where you were heading, but I don't know how long I will stay there, and you seem sure that you will stay with your friends, so…"

"Hey," he said softly, his eyes gathering a warm light to them. "Here, we'll go together, and we'll go where you have to go first. My friends can wait while I help you. It is like you said, if they do not forgive me than I should forget them cause they aren't my real friends then, are they?" Though he didn't really believe this, the man's urge to see where Rennet was heading was a deep one. In a way, it might lead him to his own interests.

"Zidane…thank you…"

-

* * *

-

After running through the paths of Fossil Roo, they opened up to the entrance within the marsh. Zidane led the way through the tall grass, and they opened up to the world. The mist was heavy, and clouded far off sights.

"There are fiends everywhere," he said hesitantly. "Watch out…"

"I can fight _some_," she proclaimed indignantly, giving him a warning look.

Zidane quirked an eyebrow at her, and leapt back a little as she withdrew a pair of short swords. The blades gleamed a tranquil color as she turned and swung them out in front of her, one blade on each side of Zidane's head, a mere inch from going through it.

"Uh…"

She straightened, and put them back into the sheaths that were hidden in the back of her. She smiled at him craftily, and after a moment, Zidane returned it. Rennet's loving, melodic laugh filled the air around him, and Zidane found his own awkward laughter right along side it.

""So where from here?" he asked. He pointed to the north of them. "That there is the direction of Lindblum I think…"

She gave a deep sigh, and looked around her. She had her back to him, and he wasn't sure if she was trying to hide her face, or if she was merely thinking. He twisted his mouth a little.

"Rennet?"

"Zidane…I talked to some people, and they said…" She was breaking down now as sobs racked her body. "They told me that many places here were destroyed, including one of my more beloved homes…"

"Where?"

"It was in Lindblum," she answered slowly.

"Y-You lived in Lindblum?" he said incredulously.

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "That was where the main defense was, what with the airships and the navy. It was the best place that we could think of. Regent Cid looked over me, so I spent most of the time within the castle…" Zidane couldn't understand how he had missed her then. Had she been somewhere else at the time? But all the man could think of was the he could have protected her before, could have helped her. And yet, now…

"Rennet…"

-

* * *

-

As they entered through the dragon gate, and took the trolley to the city, Zidane didn't say anything, nor did he met his companion's grim eyes. Rennet had been right there in the same place as him, and he hadn't known it.

He thought back to his crew. Zidane had been a part of the Tantalus thieves/ actors. Their job to kidnap the princess of Alexandria had led to all this, and now he found himself returning to Lindblum. He would perhaps meet up with his friends after all…

"Rennet, I can't do this," he whispered as they pulled up to the station. She looked at him, and he looked back at her after a moment. "I can't face them all just yet. Please, can we go back…"

"Zidane…" She seemed unsure at first, but then she smiled uneasily. "Of course, if that is what you want…"

"I'm sorry," he said hurriedly. "I just need a little while. If you wish to still go, then I'll wait here for you…"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "I want us to face them together. Come on, we'll spend a night at the inn, and set out in the morning, okay?"

He nodded, and stepped out. Holding his hand out to her, he helped her out as well. She smiled at him, and they walked up the steps to the main street. Here people bustled around, still trying to reconstruct their recently fallen kingdom. No one paid them any mind.

-

* * *

-

Zidane lay awake that night on one of the beds in the inn, Rennet sleeping in the one beside him. He glanced over at her, hands behind his head and right leg up; tail twitching over the side. She was so peaceful when she slept.

He was thinking about waking her, but then his mind drifted back to the time when he spent the night here. It was when he and the others had first gotten to the kingdom on an airship from a little village in Alexandrian territory. He and the little black mage, Vivi, had spent the night together, and he felt a jolt of pain run through him. That little Black Mage had a life span that he knew was going to end soon.

But what was Zidane to do? If he returned then, then it would all be for nothing. He knew that it was going to be a painful reunion, but for some reason it wasn't himself that he was worried about, but Rennet.

He looked over at her; unsure of the sound he was hearing. Sitting up, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, leaning a little forward. His expression changed from surprise to grim as he realized the sound was of her crying. Standing up, he took the few steps to her bad, and looked down at the bitter woman for a moment before lying down carefully on the bed behind her, curling his body alongside hers as it became tense.

"Shh," he cooed softly, brushing back her silk hair away from her face as he spoke softly. "Don't worry, everything will be alright. So just don't worry, and sleep tight. Trust me, Rennet. Everything will be alright, as long as you let it be."

"Zidane," she said weakly. Her body had relaxed some. "Why does everything have to be like this? So hard…I can't stand it anymore…"

"I know," he replied softly, feeling tears come to his eyes. "But Rennet, you're strong, and you must remain that way…"

"I know," she whispered softly, and her body relaxed.

Zidane, unsure of what had happened, raised his head to peer at her, and smiled as he saw that she was already asleep. Shaking his head slowly for a moment, he lowered it, and closed his eyes, a warm smile on his face.

-

* * *

-

It was early afternoon, and Zidane sat on the edge of his bed in his old hideout, right leg up, and elbow resting on it. He gazed around the home. It was one-roomed, and crowded. He and his Tantalus brothers slept on one platform with beds crowded next to each other. Around the room were various chests and trinkets. Their home was in a clock tower, so he smiled as it rang out twelve times.

No one was there, which he was grateful for. They were all out, probably robbing some lord who wouldn't see it coming. He chuckled dryly at this, remembering when he was still part of the crew. He had left to save the princess, and he was refused admission because he couldn't keep her.

Zidane supposed that at that moment it didn't matter. After all, he wasn't planning to meet up with anyone soon, so it was pointless. But he knew that he had to be careful or another incident like that with his sister was bound to happen, and soon.

Pushing himself up off the bed, he stretched, and slid down the ladder to land firmly on the wooden floor. Turning to leave, he stopped and turned to look at the room once again. He frowned, and walked out of there.

-

* * *

-

Sitting on the roof of the bell tower in the Theater District, Zidane felt like he was floating. Everything was so peaceful and calm that he just wanted to sit there as his worries and doubts floated away from him.

But then he heard it…

The song. Someone was singing that song from the summoner village, and he knew that it wasn't coming from Rennet, since it did not have the accent with it. Hesitating for a moment, Zidane leapt down from the roof, and walked down the street to the trolley that would take him back to the Business District. Stepping out of the trolley as he arrived, the whirring of the engine coming to a steady silence, Zidane then realized that the song was coming from the castle. Hesitating, crossing one arm over the other, he tried to think, his tail twitching. Shaking his head, he stepped back into the trolley and took it to the castle.

As he arrived, he tried to act as if he were a worker, keeping in the crowds. Getting to the left, he took it up to the top floor. Looking around him hesitantly, he pulled the hood up over his face. The guard at the post had hurried away to help move something from a small, wooden merchant airship, so he didn't have to go through the trouble he did the first time.

Walking down the corridor, Zidane then knew where the song was coming from. Moving to the right, he entered the base of a tower, and climbed the spiraling staircase to the top, and out into the open air.

As he walked up another set of white, marble stairs, the youth stopped halfway up. There she was. Like the last time, she was in the far corner behind some white, stone pillars, doves around her as she sang, but this time it seemed sadder, and he knew that she was singing for him. She was singing, hoping he would hear and come running back to her.

And Zidane wanted to, but he knew that he couldn't. Garnet was better off not knowing that he was in Lindblum, or anywhere near her at all. She then suddenly broke down, her hands on the brim of the stone wall as she slid down to her knees. His eyes softened, and he pulled himself back as he caught himself starting to run to her.

"Garnet…"

The hurt to watch her was unbearable for him. He had left her and all the others without any real hope of his return. What was he to do now? He couldn't stand to see her like this, but what choice did he have?

Looking back once regretfully at the pathetic, fallen princess, Zidane felt a great tug at his heart as he walked away from that pain, her pain…

-

* * *

-

Zidane found himself watching his feet hobble along down the cobblestone street as he neared the entrance of the Business District. Rennet was standing to one side, waiting for him, leaning against the wall of inn, her hands behind her back, and her legs crossed in front of her. There were two small packs at her feet. The woman's face went a little grim as she saw his expression.

"Zidane, are you all right?" she asked, her accent flourishing. He tried to smile, but it faltered, and concern filled her eyes.

"Don't worry so much," he said, trying to keep his voice light, throat tightening with the effort. "I'm fine."

"Zidane…" They stood there for an awkward moment.

"Is that the supplies?" he asked, pointing to them. Rennet looked down for a moment, and then back at the once thief.

"Yeah," she said with a nod. And then her face lit up. "I have something for you…

"What is it?" asked Zidane curiously, mind still drifting back to Garnet.

"He he." Grinning broadly, tilting her head to the side as she shut him out. She had faced him, but her hands were still behind her back. "I thought that you might appreciate it…" She brought her hands out from behind her back, and in them was a tied pouch. Taking the tiny thing, Zidane began to undo the knot. "It isn't much…it was just an idea…I mean, you don't have to—"

"Wow," said Zidane, surprised at the gift.

The purple cloth had pulled away to reveal a new pair of daggers, and a gold and white case in the shape of the Sand Ruby with a clip to hook it to his belt securely. He looked at her in awe.

"I thought it might be useful," she said a little sheepishly. "I know it isn't much…"

"This is awesome," he said, surveying the gifts carefully. "They are so beautiful…I can't believe that you did this…"

"It was nothing," she said, blushing slightly, shifting a bit. "Just some things I saw while I was gathering supplies, that's all…"

"Really?" said Zidane, holding up the case to take a better look at it.

"Well, except that. That one I had made. I figured that then you wouldn't have to carry them in your shirt. You can put the Falcon Claw around your neck, the Sand Ruby at your waist, and the Memory Earring, well, on your ear." He looked at her in surprise. "What?"

"You named them…"

"Yeah," she said with a small smile. "You know their names too, don't you?"

"Not the earring and the ruby," he said.

"Well, that's the thing," she said simply, nodding. "They were each given a name, and when you travel around, you learn these sort of things." He smiled at her, giving a small chuckle.

Withdrawing his old daggers, he handed them to Rennet who put them into one of the sacks. Sheathing his new ones, Zidane then took out the three crystal pieces. Clipping the earring to his left ear, he pulled the Falcon Claw over his head, letting it dangle down to his belly button. He then took the case in one hand, and the Sand Ruby in the other, and easily fitted it into the case. It lay there perfectly, and the clasps that came over kept it secure. Hooking it to his belt, he held his hands out wide to Rennet.

"What do you think?" he asked simply, beaming; thoughts of Garnet gone.

"Well," she said somewhat slowly, taking him in. "Maybe you should do something about your appearance…"

"What?" He dropped his arms in defeat.

"No, you look fine," she said hurriedly, blushing. "People may recognize you, that's all. And if you're trying to get away from them…"

"What do you suggest then?"

"Umm, maybe cut your hair," she said, nodding at it. "And maybe new clothing…"

"Ah, man," he said, dropping his head. "I kinda liked my hair." He straightened. "Wait, what about my tail? Kinda hard to hide, isn't it?"

Zidane gave off a laugh, knowing she was right. Withdrawing one of his new daggers, he pulled loose his dirty blonde hair from the loose ponytail, and gathering it all in his left hand, he closed his eyes, and cut it cleanly. When he dropped his hands with the dagger in one, and his hair in the other, and turned to Rennet, his hair was chopped to about halfway down his neck.

She smiled, and he smiled back, and the memory of when Garnet cut her own hair returned to him. She had asked to borrow his dagger, and after she cut it, she wasn't the same person. He knew he was going to change as well.

* * *

-

**_Themed Song: _**"Iris" by the GooGoo Dolls


	5. to Care is to Part

Zidane ran his fingers through his shortened hair, frowning slightly. He would miss the little tail drifting down his shoulders. They had dyed it a new color, and it took Rennet a few days to find a shade that he would agree with. Now, as he stood there in front of the mirror, he barely recognized himself.

His cropped hair was no longer the dirty blonde color, but now a deep black color. His clothing, which was recently the white shirt, blue breeches, oversized boots and gloves with a tied belt, had been switched around as well. Instead he now wore a white shirt with no sleeves, like before, but this one was new, and a little looser. It was tucked into his leather belt with the strange, silver buckle that held up his tight, black leather pants. The glove on his right arm reached up to his elbow, and was more detailed than the simple biker glove his left. Rennet said it added mystery to his appearance. Instead of those old boots he had brown, knee high ones, and most of his tail was hidden beneath a red and white fabric that reached around behind him. It reminded him of the one that Kuja used to wear to hide his own tail. The only thing she let him keep were his daggers, the crystal pieces that mostly remained hidden, and his eye color.

Stepping to the side, he surveyed the way it looked at him more thoroughly. He pursed out his bottom lip as he nodded his head in approval. He couldn't help but think of how much of a stud he really was, even when he changed the way he looked.

"Ah, quit gawking at yourself." He whirled around in surprise, and his eyes widened as his jaw dropped.

Rennet had kept her hair color and eyes, so she looked basically the same, but the outfit she wore really brought out even more of the beauty within her. Instead of the breaches and the white shirt, she had a one-piece, black leather suit that fixated to her body, showing off her slender waist and curved hips. At the top though, there was a leather over shirt, and the frill of a cream colored shirt peered out to cover very little bosom. The sleeves stopped at her shoulders, and she had a pair of biker gloves on. The silver, hoop earrings stood out in the sunlight's blaze. Zidane let out a long whistle as she walked down the steps.

"Oh shush," she said with an amused smile. "Don't start you."

"Hey," said Zidane, backing off a little. "I was just complimenting you, that's all. How come you got to remain the same while I had to change?"

"Because," she drawled, smirking a little. "I have been away for years, you have been away for two weeks. You will be recognized, but I won't. I just needed a wardrobe change, that's all…"

"Oh, I see," said Zidane slowly, circling Rennet. "Well, I like it. It looks really good on you…"

"Are you hitting on me?" said Rennet, smirking more. Zidane stopped.

"What? No, what would make you think…I would never—" But then she was laughing, and he stopped and laughed as well. "So what do we do now?"

"Hmm," she said, biting at her lower lip delicately. Zidane smiled, realizing how often she did this when she was in deep thought. "Well, I supposed that we could begin by trying to find out more about what happened ten years ago. Anyone you know that might have the answers?"

"Well," said Zidane slowly, racking his brain for ideas. "I suppose that we could ask the nobles in Treno. They gossip a lot, and if you have a question, you can go there. There is also a professor there that we might be able to ask. Better known as Professor Tot."

-

* * *

-

As they rode the mist engine to the station that would take them near Treno, Zidane couldn't help but stare at his reflection in the window. He looked so different, that he wondered that when he_did _return to his friends if they would even recognize him at all. But he didn't get to dwell on this long as the engine came to a jolted stop, and he went flying forwards, almost into Rennet. He straightened, and they exchanged worried glances.

Rising quickly out of their seats as they heard the screams, they withdrew their weapons, and headed up the aisle. As they neared the trolley's front, the glass to the right suddenly flew in on them as a fiend jumped through. Rennet leapt onto it, instantly and brought her swords down on the mutated wolf, slicing it on either shoulder. It fell to the side with a yowl. But then more began to break in through not only the windows but the sides of the trolley as well. There was screaming, and agonizing pain all around them. Zidane turned to his companion anxiously. People began filtering behind them for protection, giving cries, pleas, and prayers in their desperation.

"We must do something!"

"But _what_?" said Rennet, throwing her right sword into the chest of a giant bat, and walking over to take it out. She turned to him. "There are too many…"

"We have to evacuate everyone," Zidane replied hurriedly, peering at the scared faces, and the bodies already littering the seats.

"But we don't have time for that," she protested stubbornly, gesturing to the chaos around them, using her other hand to slice a strange bird in half. "More are coming. By the time we get everyone off of this thing, the trolley will be surrounded, and then there's no hope for_any _of us."

"But we can't just leave them!"

Rennet looked around at the huddled and mumbling people. The fiends remained outside the vehicle now, prowling and waiting. The passengers, who had survived, were now either cowering beneath the seats, or crying over the dead. She turned back to him grimly.

"We must attack the source," she told him slowly. "Fiends do not attack in swarms like this, not on their own…"

"Right," Zidane agreed, nodding. He turned to the others, gesturing with his arms as he spoke. "Listen to me, everyone. We are going to stop this as soon as we can. Until then, hang on. Barricade the holes, the windows, everything. And we'll return for you."

A few people nodded, and began to do as he said, tearing away seats to place before the holes. This seemed to give the others courage, and so they joined as well. Zidane turned to Rennet, and they exchanged nods. With weapons still drawn, they headed for the trolley door. There they stopped to talk with the shaky attendant.

"Listen here," said Zidane. "Barricade this door, but keep a tiny hole open so you can see us when we are coming, okay?" The attendant nodded, at a lost for words.

Rennet went first, gazing around for more fiends. She gestured to Zidane, who came out after her. They watched as the door behind them was promptly barricaded. They exchanged uneasy glances.

"We should get going," said Rennet slowly.

"Yeah, but which direction?"

"We could wait for the next swarm," she said slowly. "See the direction, and then kill them and head that way…"

"Right," he agreed with a nod.

They didn't have to wait too long. Soon enough more fiends were plowing their way up the slope to them. It was like before, some blue and white birds, with some brown, hairy wolves that Zidane recognized from Evil Forest. He grimaced, remembering their teeth.

Taking up his stance, he waited until they were about thirty feet away before charging. He swung, bringing his weapons around with him, at the nearest fiend. It was a bird, which promptly flew out of harm's way. It retaliated with its claws, but then, the assault suddenly stopped. Zidane looked in surprise at Rennet. She held the claws in her hands, twisting them. There was a loud snap and the bird gave out an anguished call. Grabbing its right wing, she twisted that as well, and the bird dropped to the ground, calling out helplessly, trying to get into the air. Zidane looked down at it, not in pity precisely, but something else…

He then turned away as Rennet crouched down and broke its neck with her hands. He felt his stomach quench. He could never do that kind of thing to someone, even a fiend. His attacks were precise, and made to kill the enemy in a single blow. He didn't like killing, no matter who it might be.

"How can you do that," he muttered in disbelief, turning to her.

"Easy," Rennet replied simply. "Now come on, we still have many more to dispose of."

She ran off to face off against one of the strange wolves. Zidane turned away, not wanting to see what she did to that one. His head went craning back as one of the remaining birds collided with it, and flew up into the air, hovering some ten feet away.

Turning angrily, he threw himself forward as one of the wolves leapt at him. Getting hurriedly to his feet, he leaped after it, and as it turned, he dodged away, past the attempted paw swing, and went in from the side. Dropping to the ground, he slid himself beneath the fiend, and pushed his daggers up into the wolf's chest over and over again as he heard its anguished yowls. Blood drenched his hands and face as it sprayed out from the wound. The wolf then fell to its side with a dying yowl.

Getting clumsily to his feet, Zidane gazed around for another. Another bird flew at him, giving off a high-pitched squawk. Turning, he threw one of the daggers at it, catching it in the beak. But instead of bouncing back, it went right through, and the bird promptly fell to the ground. Rushing over, he rolled to the bird, taking out the dagger, and turned to face the next wolf.

But then Rennet leapt down on it from the side somewhere, and held open its jaws. The thing began to squirm and buck, but she held on tightly, and pulled. The wolf's jaw ripped right off, and she dropped it, now putting pressure on its back and then leaping off. Holding firmly to its front legs, there was a pair of snaps, and then she held onto the back ones. Pressing her foot into the center of the wolf's back, she pressed down, and Zidane felt like he could feel the wolf's pain as its spinal cord broke. Rennet dropped the dying wolf, and backed away.

"What are you doing?!" He bellowed at her, gesturing to the whimpering wolf. "Finish it!" She stared at him hard.

"This thing would have made those people suffer," she said, gesturing to the trolley. "Why not let it feel what it has done to so many others?"

"Because its wrong!" he snapped. "It is in their nature, but it doesn't mean it has to be in ours! Even if it deserves it, you just don't leave it!"

But she just stood there, and Zidane shook his head in disbelief at her, before running over to the poor creature, and bending down. He patted its side, smoothing the fur as he calmed it. The wolf quit whimpering, and instead watched him.

"It's alright," he cooed. He placed the daggers near the fiend's chest, and pushed in. The wolf's body gave a soft shudder, and then went limp. Zidane rose to his feet and faced her.

He had never imagined that Rennet was capable of doing such an act. He didn't know what to say to her as he glared at her. What _was_ there to say? Shaking his head, he headed down the slope instead.

-

* * *

-

Further down the hill they hadn't yet come across more fiends, and Zidane began to doubt that this was even the way. But then he saw something ahead of him that caught his eye. Moving closer, he gasped as he what it was. Ducking behind a rock, he didn't say anything as Rennet did likewise.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"They're Black Mages," he whispered back softly, peering out a little more to get a better view. "What are they doing here? Are they the ones causing this?"

"I thought that they were magic users that were manufactured…"

"They are," Zidane confirmed, nodding. "So they _can't _be the ones controlling these fiends. Besides that, no more are being made…"

"Well, if they are made out of mist," said Rennet slowly. "Then all they would need would be the equipment, and more _can _be made…"

Zidane looked at her, and then back at the Black Mages hustling around the camp, realizing that she was right. More could be made now that the mist returned. He bit his lower lip, and could only guess what someone might do with them. Last time war had broken out among the Mist Continent, and then on the Outer Continent also. Zidane remembered vividly what ended that war well…

"What do we do?" asked Rennet anxiously after a few moments.

"I think we should find the person behind this," he whispered back. "And fast. Cause if I'm right, we only stopped one of the swarms on our way up here. They must have had more fiends coming from other directions…" He racked his mind for an idea. "I think we should…"

He heard a strangle yell, and turned sharply around to see Rennet wrestling to keep a black mage quiet. It was a type B one, so the black coat had golden embroidery. Like all black mages, it had the black, round face, with the large, oval yellow eyes. Rennet forced the black mage to the ground, and pulled its arms behind its back, and still keeping one hand over its mouth. She began to rip away at the coat with the fingers of the hand that held the arms, and took the strip into her mouth. She then leaned forward, reached her thumb and forefinger out to it from the Black Mae's mouth, and quickly pulled her hand away. At the same time, she wrapped it around his head and in his mouth. After this, the woman took another strip and tied his wrists, and then his feet. She stood up, and backed away a little as the black mage forced himself into a sitting position.

"All right," said Rennet, breathing a little hard. "Now we want some answers, and you're to give them. We will not harm you unless you should yell out…okay?" The Black Mage nodded ferociously.

Twisting her mouth a little, Rennet looped around the Black Mage and crouched down behind him. Bringing out one of his daggers, Zidane could see perspiration running down the Black Mage's temples, and watched as the creature's back arched as she pressed it against him.

"Right," said Zidane with a nod. "We need you to tell us who is making more Black Mages, and why are you following him?" Rennet released the bond, but prodded a little closer with the dagger.

"I-It was some new guy!" he said hurriedly. "I don't know his name! I am new here. All they told me was that I was made to serve, and if I did otherwise, then I would be killed!"

"Alright," Zidane noted slowly with a nod. "I believe you. Tell me what you _do_know then…" The Black Mage paused, but a little prod bound him in the right direction.

"What I _do_ know is that whoever this guy is, he is very powerful. His magic so great that even all the Black Mages here combined could barely scratch him, or so I have heard. And he has control over the fiends as well. That is all I know, I swear!"

"Hey," said Zidane softly, crouching in front of the Black Mage, smiling encouragingly. "It's all right. I believe you. I'm gonna let you go free, though you must promise that you won't alert anyone, and I can get you out of here…"

"Oh, I won't!! You do not understand how awful it is here!"

"Alright," said Zidane with a nod, beginning to undo the bonds.

"Are you mad?!" Rennet snapped at him. "He'll get us both caught! And then what do we do?!"

"He won't!" he snapped back. "There, go ahead…"

The Black Mage nodded promptly and scurried to his feet as he ran off into the deepening night. Zidane stood now, watching him go. For a moment, Rennet still crouched there, staring up at him in hard disbelief before rising slowly to her feet.

"What was that?!" she snapped. "He could tell them, and all of this would be for nothing! What then?"

"Yeah," said Zidane, not turning to face her, his voice low. "But…" He looked at her. "He won't, even though he could. I have met and dealt with Black Mages before, and all they want is their freedom while they can still have and appreciate it…"

"But, you don't understand—"

"No!" Zidane broke in angrily. "I am tired of this! I know those people, and what they go through! He won't tell them, and if you can't trust me, then perhaps you aren't much of a friend…"

She looked at him in her shock, her eyes widening. The dagger slipped from her hand, and it promptly began to rain hard, drenching them both before the dagger hit the ground. Zidane burned his hatred and confusion into her.

"Zidane…"

"I have had enough," he said softly, closing his eyes. "All of this…I have had enough. For someone who is seemingly kind and fragile, I have never met someone that was so…_not_…"

"You don't understand me…" Her voice was strained, and her eyes were narrowed as she became angry.

"I may not, but that's the thing," he said slowly. "I _don't _know you, so I can't understand why you act the way you do…

"You seem so kind, and you and I get along so well, but when it comes to this kind of thing…we have our differences. You cannot just allow people to suffer because you're afraid of what they might do. Everyone has their own rights, and…"

"Then what do you propose we do?!" she bellowed at him, gesturing her arm out to the side. "Huh?! Tell me, damn it! Cause I sure as hell don't know!"

"I want you to leave," he replied, closing his eyes again. Her eyes went wide, and her body rigid. "I want you to leave me alone…"

"Y-You can't mean that," she said softly, disbelievingly.

"I do," he admitted determinedly, opening his eyes and facing her sternly. "No more games, Rennet. I am tired of going in circles, and tired of these silly games that seem to have no end…"

"Then I shall leave," Rennet announced slowly, registering her own words. "I am sorry that you feel that way…" She closed her eyes and turned around as if to leave, but then stopped, and when she spoke, she didn't face him. "Perhaps one day you will realize what could have been, and what I was trying to show to you…"

Zidane felt his heart slip away with the young summoner as she walked further down the slope into the surrounding darkness, and it tugged at him. He moved as if to run after her, but stopped with a shake of his head, and instead turned his sight to the heavens.

He cursed those heavens for the hell that they had given him. he had to tightly close his eyes, and water dripped over them, but as he opened them, tears were mixed in with them. He couldn't help but feel how cruel the heavens really were, and though he felt this, he also felt that the heavens were crying right alongside him…

-

* * *

-

He awoke the next day, arms around legs where they had been drawn up to his chest. He slowly raised his head, and found that it was still raining just as hard. As he got to his feet and walked around the boulder, his eyes went wide as he saw Black Mages littering the ground.

Walking amongst the corpses, he saw the tortured faces, and the many wounds and broken limbs. Zidane frowned at each one he saw, and as he went further down the slope, following the bodies, he came to a halt at the sight of fiend corpses as well. Further along he could see something that wasn't quite either.

He ran along quicker, and crouched down beside them, turning the body over, fearing the worse. His lips parted and his eyes went wide as he saw that it was the body of what looked like a dark jester. Turning the body back around in disgust, he got to his feet, and slowly made his way back up the hill.

Resting his back against the boulder where he had spent the previous night, eyes closed with head leaned back and elbows resting on his propped up knees, he gave a deep sigh. As he slowly opened his eyes, they widened, and Zidane slowly reached forward his right arm to pick up a scroll of parchment.

Breaking the knot, and unrolling it, he read:

-

Zidane, what I wouldn't give to go back and change what I did. The look of hurt on your face is too much for me. I am sorry that you ever felt like there was something wrong about me, but it is the way I am. I cannot just change, and you, of all people, should understand this.

_We cannot just wait here and do nothing. We have to take action, cause if we don't, then we are basically useless, and I refuse to be useless. Of all the things that I could say to you, I had to say I was sorry, and you know what, I'm not. _

_I am who I am, and if you cannot accept me, then you and I were never friends, and I am afraid that we cannot ever be again. But I will think of you every day of my life, up to my last breath, and I hope that when that day does come, you will come to understand what I have been trying to show you all along… _

-

Zidane sat there, staring at the neatly scrawled letter numbly. He began to wonder what sort of friends they would have made, and he knew that it would probably not have worked out. They were similar, but very different. They were _too _different, and even though he didn't agree with some of her actions, he felt tears come to his eyes nonetheless.

He crumpled up the paper, and buried his face in the corner of his elbow, and let it all out as sobs racked his body, and tears flew freely from his eyes. He could barely stand it anymore himself. It was getting out of hand, and he was losing people so frequently along the way. He wished that someone would give a damn about him…

* * *

-

**_Themed Song: _**"Colors" by Crossfade


	6. Old Stories Seldom Telled

Zidane could barely see where he was going, nor did he really care. It had been a few days since Rennet had left, and since that night it rained. It refused to stop, and he didn't know what to make of it. Was it a mistake to have parted from the summoner? She was so different than from what he had first thought, but then maybe ditching her wasn't what she needed. He wasn't sure if it was what he needed either…

Zidane couldn't get her out of his mind, and he as he raised his head, he knew that it would be a long time before he forgave himself, if he ever did. Images of her kept flashing through his mind. When they first met, in the cove, atop the slope when they first realized she was a summoner, that night at the inn, and when she came down the stairs…and then when she was killing those fiends…

Blood lust had entered not only her eyes, but had taken over her body. He had thought her crazy, but as he watched and felt those fiends' agony, he knew that they wouldn't think twice about doing it to them. Regardless, did that make it any more right?

The rain was relentless and it seemed as if it would never end. He thought that it was probably the heavens way of telling him, 'hey, buddy, you fucked up, again!'.

Zidane chuckled dryly at this. He wouldn't doubt it. It was probably one of his biggest mistakes of his life. He shook his head at this. He shouldn't say that, because he wouldn't have met her if he hadn't made another. He didn't even know where he was…

The rain and the mist made it difficult to see anything, so the thief walking around blind. He could walk over an edge and no one would probably know for months. Finally, tired, hungry, and miserable, he fell back, reaching his hands out behind him to steady himself. His head bent forward in defeat, and he raised his knees up, bringing his arms around with fist as he pounded on them. His body shook terribly as he repeatedly did this. He was such a fool…

"Zidane?"

Looking up through his tears, his eyes widened as he saw who it was. Standing at just about four feet, the Black Mage before him was now one of a kind. He was made to be a kid with a blue jacket and turquoise and white striped pants.

"Vivi?" he said weakly, screwing up his vision to see if he disappeared.

And then his mind went fuzzy, and everything seemed different. His body went numb, and he saw the little Black Mage running lopsidedly over to him, calling out to him, but Zidane didn't hear the calls as he fell.

-

* * *

-

Zidane didn't feel the relentless torment of the rain, nor did he feel the sharp coldness that had filled him for so many days. Now he just felt nothing, and as he opened his eyes, he saw that he was on a bed in an inn, Vivi sitting worriedly on a stool at his side. Zidane looked at the little Black Mage hazily.

"Vivi, is that you?" he asked sleepily. He imagined if he could see the Black Mage's mouth that he would be smiling.

"Yep!" he said happily. "I finally found you! Wait until the others find out that you're—"

"No!" Zidane snapped suddenly, jumping into a sitting position and grabbing the Black Mage by the forearms. Vivi's eyes widened in realization. "You mustn't tell them!"

"B-B-But why?"

"Because," replied Zidane with a sigh, letting the Black Mage go. "I have some things that I have to do, and I don't want to get you all involved. If you get involved, then it will just slow things up, and I will never find out what I need to. Understand?"

"B-But," protested the mage, clearly shaken and unsettled by the sudden situation. "E-Everyone thinks you're dead! Y-You can't just let them k-keep thinking that! You can't, you can't!" The little Black Mage had risen to his feet, and in his anger was swinging his arms to his sides as he spoke. Head bowed and yellow eyes narrowed.

"Vivi…"

"Garnet misses you," the boy interrupted suddenly, not looking at him. "All she does is cry. She cannot even run her country. Zidane, you have to return to her…"

"I can't," the man admitted grimly, looking away as his voice began to crack. "I know that it hurts her, cause I saw her in Lindblum. But I have my duties, and she has hers. Please try to understand, Vivi. I just lost a friend, and I feel that I am being punished for it…"

"Is that all you care about?" said the little Black Mage in disbelief. Zidane looked at him in somewhat confusion. "I-Is that one person more important than all of us?! Than Garnet, than me, Eiko, Freya…

"We are your friends, Zidane! W-We were there when your new friend wasn't! We were your friends first! We snapped you out of it on Terra, and this how you thank us?! If you're more concerned about that one person, than all the people that helped you through all of that, then forget it…"

The Black Mage went running up that stairs and out of the inn. Zidane scrambled to follow him, calling out to him as he darted down the steps and out into the open night. But the rain blurred everything, and the little mage was gone. Zidane looked to the sky, more tears coming to his eyes.

"Vivi…you're right…"

-

* * *

-

Treno wasn't anymore empty then before. The rain didn't stop the people from their daily activities. It didn't matter too much to them, since it was always night. Zidane walked down the streets, bumping into people, but always walking. He didn't even know where he was heading. He knew that he should go to Doctor Tot's tower, but he was unsure if anyone could help him now. He wasn't even sure if he could talk to anyone without driving them away.

Then, before he knew it, Zidane was there before the tower, and he sighed, knowing that he should go up. As the youth opened the door, and entered, he took one painstaking step after painstaking step to the top. Rounding the corner, he found the short, frilly haired, long nosed, big eared, round rim glassed doctor up on the platform of the broken globe of Gaia.

"Professor Tot…" The professor turned sharply to him, and then began to promptly climb down and waddle down to him.

"Oh, Zidane! Oh my goodness! We all thought—"

"I know," the man interrupted softly. "Professor Tot, I cannot return to them, but I need you to tell me about the storm that happened ten years ago that destroyed the summoner village…"

"What ever for?" he asked curiously, taking off his glasses and breathing on them, and then wiping them off on his dark red, frilly shirt.

"Because I am from there," replied Zidane slowly. "And I need to know more about that place. I can barely remember it, and I need to figure out more about it, to understand more about myself…"

"Well," he said, putting the glasses back on the bridge of his nose. "I know that Madain Sari was one of the first villages that was made here on Gaia, which is why a lot of things there you wouldn't expect to see are there.

"It was a prosperous little village, with happy people, plenty of nourishment and water. They welcomed all who came, and when the crystal was split, they welcomed their piece." He drifted off, giving more thought to it as he wracked his memory bank, saying slowly, "I know that there was this one little girl from there that was sent to me to be watched because she held great power. And not just summoner power either."

"Rennet…"

"Yes," blinked the professor with a nod. "How'd you know?"

"That's not important," Zidane told him with a shake of his head. "Please, continue."

"Right," stated Tot slowly, bringing forward two stools for them to sit on. "Well, the little girl was extremely gifted, you see. But I detected that there was something else different about her, and I did some research, but found nothing. There were no records of her, no real family..." He drifted off again in thought, sitting on the stool; short legs stuck out straight before him.

After a minute he continued, discarding his thought, saying "Anyways, so the little girl was sent to several places to remain out of harms way. I know that a couple months after she returned to Madain Sari, there was a huge storm. It destroyed the village, leaving very few survivors."

Giving a slow nod of his head, the professor told a carefully listening Zidane, "Garnet was found in a little ship with her dead mother at Alexandria, and looking exactly like the recently deceased princess, she was taken in by the king and queen. Her horn was removed, and she was raised as the princess from age six up.

"Then there is Miss Eiko…She said that she is the daughter of some of the survivors, any yet, she is the only one left…"

"A little girl, left alone in a village of moogles…"

"I know," said Tot with a nod at Zidane's grim look. "It doesn't make much sense, does it? But she refuses to tell me more about why the summoners died out like that. It makes no sense, and though she posses great power, like I said, she is just a little girl. And I am afraid that that is all I know. If you wish to learn more, I suggest discovering why the summoners suddenly died."

"Yeah," said Zidane with a nod, understanding this. "But how?"

"I would suggest talking to Eiko," the professor said delicately, and seeing the look on Zidane's face, added quickly, "But you said that you're staying away from everyone, so that is out of the question. Her Highness has difficulties with her own memories. Lady Rennet may know something, but I know that after the storm, she disappeared, so probably not."

"She's alive," said Zidane with a nod. "I know. I parted from her some five days ago…"

"Oh, I see," said Tot with a nod, asking carefully, "What happened?"

"She has little honor when it comes to lives," replied Zidane, surprised at the sharpness in his voice.

"Oh, well that would be because no one ever bothered to teach her any. Zidane, fiends took her real family away from her, and one member left - her brother - was killed by a Black Mage in this war. I know, I was watching him. But he was her half brother…"

"So that is why she is so…" He suddenly stopped and his eyes widened. "Oh! That's right! Professor Tot, someone is making Black Mages again!"

"Wouldn't surprise me," he said calmly with a nod.

"Yeah, but they are _attacking_ now," Zidane added, irritated at the man's calm reaction. "I know, because it happened to me. I was on the trolley on the way here, and fiends attacked it. They were being controlled, because the mix wasn't right, and they attacked in swarms. And then there was the Black Mage camp, and after capturing one, I discovered all this." Taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself, Zidane added more calmly, "After, I discovered that the leader was some strange jester dressed in black and red…"

"A strange…_jester_?" Tot prompted slowly. Zidane nodded. "This must have been a Reverser…"

"What are _they_?"

"They are powerful, more powerful than any Black Mage I know of,  
Tot admitted grimly. "They can control various things, and toy with people's minds. They are not one you want to mess with. They were a legend, and they were sealed away when the crystal was broken. They were one of the things that came with it…"

"Wait, what else came with the crystal? What do you mean?"

"Because of the crystal, Reversers came. The crystal holds great power, and they wanted it. Eventually someone began directing them towards it, so we had to split it apart. What I don't understand is how they got free…"

"I don't know," said Zidane with a small shake of his head, but his voice was firm. "But trust me when I say I will find out…"

-

* * *

-

Stepping out into the rainy, misted world, face set and determined, Zidane knew that there was something other than his past he would have to face before this was through. He had his daggers drawn, and he refused to let himself be shut down by any fiend, or anyone for that matter. No more indecisive moves; he would make one more choice, and that was it. He wouldn't let anything, or _anyone _discourage him now…

* * *

-

**_Themed Song: _**"Two Worlds" by Phill Collins


	7. Thirteen Days of Sweetened Misery

Everything Zidane did seemed to be a mistake, and he knew that it was part of his curse. He would never be able to do anything since he had misunderstood what Rennet was trying to show him. He _still _wasn't sure. He gave a deep sigh.

These thoughts led him to Madain Sari, already on the path. It was ten says after Rennet left, and he was feeling the loss more than ever now. She always seemed to make the situation light.

The fiends, for some reason or other, were avoiding the man. Zidane wasn't sure if it was because they were smart enough to realize to not mess with him, or if it was something else…

He hadn't seen nor heard about another Reverser, but he didn't doubt that there were more out there, waiting. He didn't know what could possibly be going on, but he knew that it wasn't good. Zidane had changed several times since the kidnapping incident, but he thought that this time the change would be bigger than expected.

But now, Zidane showed no mercy to any fiend he _did _come across, and though the rain pounded down on him with such force, he didn't feel it anymore. His body felt nothing, but he wasn't all that sure it was from the cold.

As he opened up to the little mass of land that housed the destroyed village, he felt that there was something different about it as he watched it. It was as if Madain Sari had been waiting for him, and now held its arms wide open for him. If that was the case, then he was ready…

-

* * *

-

As he entered, Zidane's attention was drawn to the building to the right once again. He looked at it blankly, unsure what to make of this strange feeling. He felt like he knew the place, and yet couldn't recall a memory from it. Shaking his head, he walked down the street to the center square.

Looking around, he took the right path to the Eidolon wall. He knew that that was where all the dead were buried, and where the summoner rituals were held. Walking into the closed area, he studied the images plastered to the wall. They were of all the summons that the summoners here knew of.

Starting to this right, he began searching for any information inscribed into the wall that may help him. He went past the dedications and writings to and of loved ones, to where he knew there must be something on the storm. He stopped suddenly.

"'The storm killed almost everyone. It was dreadful. There was a large eye in the sky, and all that anyone could do was pray. When the light came down, and there was a great explosion, I knew that was it…'" Moving further along, he stopped at another one.

" I am one of the few survivors here. My wife and me have decided to start a family to try and get the village back on its feet. Others have agreed that this is a good plan. It has been three years since that dreadful storm, and there are so few of us. The harvest has been bad for the last three years, and there is little fresh water. It is like the dead stained the ground and water…'"

"'How awful things were, and how prosperous they seem now! My daughter is born at last, and I feel that she shall be a good summoner. A moogle was born at the same time on the same day…what this means I am unsure of…'"

"'I fear for the safety of the Memory Earring. This village was destroyed because there was something here that someone wanted. We all know that it was the little summoner girl, but why exactly, I am unsure of. She holds something that someone wants…and the little boy that we took in…we don't know where either of them are now.'"

Zidane stopped here, thinking about the information he had just read. It wasn't much. Rennet had something that someone wanted. That seemed true, but Zidane was told the summoner village was destroyed because Garland feared their power. Garland had said so himself…

But what Garland said was different from what he meant. The summoners were something to fear, yes, but what if he was indicating more towards Rennet than anyone? Why would he leave that part out? Was it because he thought Rennet dead? Or simply didn't care to note it?

The Zidane saw another inscription that caught his eye. Reaching up, he brushed away some soil and moss, and forced out a jutting rock. Behind it was more writing.

"'It would seem that few people here truly understand why Rennet was continuously sent away. I feel it is my duty to mark it down somewhere so that people will know why it is this place was destroyed, and what they should be careful of. I will be killed most likely, but it is well worth it…

"'It would seem that the little girl has within her great power, yes, but she holds something in her body. When she was little, and fiends killed her family, Rennet miraculously survived. Her brother had been away at the time, and remained away. He wasn't a summoner, since Rennet's mother was, and her father wasn't. Her father had had a secret lover…

"'But regardless of this little information, neither of them can be allowed to be left here. So her brother, Lang, was sent away to live with commoners, and she was sent to several places. When she came back, this place was destroyed, and she and the little boy here were lost to us. We do not know where either of them is, but I do not doubt that they are alive.

"'If either one of you should read this, I suggest finding Lang, and talking to him. He knows what is going on far better than any of us. It was his suggestion that they should be moved, and I only hope that he is okay…I wish you all the best of luck.'"

Zidane flopped down backwards, and leaning forward some he just stared at that writing. So whatever it was that made Madain Sari be destroyed, had caused this man to write about it on the wall, even though he would be killed for it. To think the summoners would go as far as to kill someone to keep that secret…

He understood little of this, and Zidane wasn't sure if it was because something that was out of place, or if he was just tired. But then he realized something with a frown. Professor Tot had said that Rennet's brother, Lang, had died. He couldn't ask him. That was it. There was nothing else for it. What was he supposed to do now?

Zidane flopped over to the side in defeat, his body's exhaustion finally taking over. The man stared blankly at his hand through half closed eyes. He had nowhere left to go, and he was still running around in circles. He closed his eyes as tears came to them, and the rain pelt down on him still.

-

* * *

-

Zidane awoke, still drenched and water still coming, to the sound of someone singing. Lying there for a moment, he squinted his eyes as he tried to recognize the song, and where he was. Pushing himself up painfully, Zidane glanced around anxiously, remembering that his energy had finally given out near the Eidolon wall. Getting to his feet uneasily, he proceeded out of the closed circle of area.

As he reached the center square, Zidane had half expected to find Rennet sitting there, and his eyes widened as he saw her turn to him over her shoulder and offer him a smile. But then there was a crack and a flash, and she was gone. He felt his hope turn to despair. It had been an apparition, a mere trick of his mind.

Instead, Zidane hobbled down the other path to Eiko's house, and down to the cove. He looked around, and found no one here as well. There were still, no moogles in sight. Who was singing that song? He realized it wasn't just a song of memories, but a song of something lost as well.

And then it started again, in a deeper voice, more near. Turning to the little craft, his eyes widened as he saw who sat in it. Turning to him, Jane watched the young man through her blank eyes.

"Zidane…"

"But, you're…" He shook his head, not even able to finish what he was going to say. He didn't _want _to finish it.

"I know," she said softly, drawing the cloak around her more tightly. "I am, but I, like all who died here, are trapped. And it wont be long before…" She broke off, and her face grew dim and her mouth parting as she finished the sentence in her mind.

"What?" Zidane persisted, throwing his arms out behind him, taking a step forward, and leaning in towards her. "What is it? Please, tell me!" After a moment, the woman looked steadily up at him.

"I can't," she replied softly, shaking her head a little. "You will see soon enough. You will understand everything in all due time, trust me."

"How can I?" he said, straightening. Shaking his head, he added in a raspy voice, "I do not even know if all of this is real or not. You died, there in that little craft, and I _saw_ it. I wasn't there, but I _saw_ it nonetheless…"

"Yes, I know you did," she said with a nod. "Because I wanted you to see it, Zidane. You have forgotten your time here, I know you have, but regardless…"

"How did I end up in Lindblum? What happened to me? Why did I leave you and Garnet like that? I don't understand why I would…"

"You have to remember that without me telling you," she told softly, yet firmly, grimacing a little. "Just like you have to understand why it was that Rennet was sent away, and why you forgot everything…"

"It is all so confusing…"

"Yes, I know," Jane stated with a nod. "Kuja told you too much at once."

"How do you know about that?"

"Because," she said despairingly. "I was there, in Lifa Tree, and I wasn't. I can hear things that happen there, though I am stuck here. The Lifa Tree's green inside, the strange liquid, is our Lifestream."

"What do you mean?" Did she simply mean the stream that souls transferred through from Gaia to Terra? Wouldn't they be gone now that Kuja had destroyed Terra?

"That is what it was once called before it became contorted, and turned into the mist. The mist makes people want to fight, and when they die, they go to the Lifestream, where they suffer endlessly. It is those who suffer that try to take their anguish out, and _that _is what causes the battle lust.

"And so when we die, our souls go to the Lifestream, but it is like the soul is split into two, because the other half goes somewhere else…" She broke off, shaking her head. She gave an exhausted sigh, and Zidane wished right then that he could reach out and hold that woman.

"Jane…please, tell me…"

"I can't," she admitted half-heartedly. "I am not allowed to, and nor should I. It is like I said; you will understand everything in the time you're supposed to. It is going to be very confusing, and very frustrating. I won't lie to you and say that it won't, because it will. But Zidane, you mustn't give up. And you must learn to forgive people for the things they cannot help."

"But how can I?" he snapped at her, his expression hardening as he thought of Rennet's vicious assaults on the fiends. "After what she did, what she _wanted_ to do? That's just not right…"

"She is young, Zidane," Jane noted quietly. "It is no excuse, but it is the only way she can think of to repay those things for killing her family. She thinks that her brother is dead as well…"

"But he _is_. He was killed in the war, wasn't he?"

"No," she said with a soft shake of her head. "Lang lives, but he lives under another name. He has kept it hidden all these years…it must be difficult for him. He doesn't know if she is alive or not either…"

"Who is he? Where can I find Lang?"

"You already know him," she said slowly. "Now you must find him on your own. I know that it is difficult right now for you to accept anything, or do anything, but you must take action."

"But where do I _go_?" asked Zidane despairingly, becoming overly frustrated with the lack of answers he was being given.

"You must head back to Lindblum, and then perhaps things will become a little more clear…" The boat began to drift away, and Jane began to fade.

"No!" shouted the youth suddenly, coming to attention.

He began running along the rock outcrop alongside the craft, just a little behind it. He wouldn't let this happen again. He didn't just want more answers, he _needed _more answers. But the boat had drifted out too far, and Jane had disappeared. Zidane fell to his knees, slamming his fists upon the cool rock repeatedly into the night as the rain continued outside.

-

* * *

-

Lindblum seemed bare. No one was out because of the rain, and every now and then Zidane would see someone rushing into their home for shelter. Where was he supposed to go? He didn't know what Lang looked like, and if he _did _find him, then what was he supposed to say? 'Your sister's still alive, sorry, I drove her off'? He shook his head at this.

He came to a sudden stop as he realized that he was not only in Lindblum castle, but he was up on the top of it, before the pair of staircases. He hadn't noticed that the rain had stopped hitting him, but he had realized it when it had begun again. Climbing the first few steps, he stopped at the top of the second staircase.

His eyes went soft and his jaw dropped as he saw who was up here. It wasn't Garnet, but Rennet. She was staring at the sky where Garnet had stood when Zidane had last seen her. Her eyes were sorrowful, and her face distraught.

"You're so brilliant sometimes," she whispered softly. He was a little shocked that she knew he was there. Taking off her right hand from the side, she turned to look at him. He saw Garnet looking at him again like that.

"Rennet…"

"You're here, in the rain without a coat…" Zidane didn't know what to say. He knew that she was trying to make light of the situation. "You know," she added softly, looking to the sky, placing both hands on the side as a strong wind blew. "I couldn't figure out why at first, why it was I was crying. Then I realized that it was because I knew that beneath this exterior there lay a monster…"

"Rennet, listen, I'm—"

"Please don't apologize," she butted in with a shake of her head. "There are no words for what I did, or an excuse. There are no excuses for the things said…the things done…" She peered at him through a hazy gaze now. "You told me to leave, so what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to apologize," he answered quietly. "I didn't want you to leave, not really. I didn't understand because I didn't listen. I am tired of these games, and I am _tired_ of all this bullshit…" He looked to the sky, holding out his arms as if to catch the drops. "It hasn't stopped raining for thirteen days…"

"I know," she said with a nod. "I think that I did something…" Zidane gave a dry chuckle at this, and Rennet offered him a small smile.

"I think you're right," he commented quietly.

"Zidane," she said softly. He looked at her curiously. "Why are you here? Why are you _really _here?" Zidane hesitated before answering, lowering his arms to his sides. His tail drooped with the pressure of the rain, causing the youth some lower back pain.

"I came…because I wanted us to be friends. I wanted us to figure things out together, and because it seemed the logical thing to do. But I guess," he added slowly. "I came mostly because I missed you."

For a few minutes they stood there, looking at each other, neither sure what to say. What could be said? They were just two young people, both naïve with so much to learn, especially about each other. She offered him a peculiar look.

"I missed you as well," she announced finally, giving a solemn nod of her head. "It didn't feel right without you beside me to comfort me. It's kind of hard to imagine a life without someone there to help me…"

"I know," said Zidane softly with a nod. "I thought that I was either going crazy, or I was about to. I couldn't get you out of my mind, and the worse part of it was that _I _was the one the drove you away, and all I could think of was if I could somehow get to you, talk to you…"

"Well, here I am," she said. Zidane's lips parted a little as he struggled to find the words. _Were_ there words?

He wasn't even entirely sure how he felt about her. _Did _he love her? How could he? He just met her, and then there was Garnet…he didn't know what to make of anything anymore, and he doubted that he even knew what real love was. He always seemed to fall for the stranger ones…

"I don't really know what to say," he admitted softly gesturing to either side with his hands. "It's difficult. My _feelings_ are difficult…"

"I see," she said slowly, turning back to the sky. "So, what now? Are we going to travel together as if nothing has happened?" Zidane was unsure of what to say to this.

"I don't know," he whispered in reply. "Can we continue like that?"

"That is up to you," she said, a strong wind blowing. There was a moment's silence, and Zidane watched her as she brushed back her hair out of her face.

"There is something that I must tell you," said Zidane slowly after a few moments. She looked at him, eyes a little wide and mouth parted cutely. "It is about your brother, Lang…"

"My…brother…" Zidane walked slowly over to her, and she grabbed hold of his hands, looking up at him pleadingly. "Please tell me! Did you know him?!"

"I don't know," he said with a shake of his head. "But…he lived here, in Lindblum, and he didn't die in the war…"

"He didn't," she breathed, her eyes widening. "Then where is he?!"

"He's still here, I would imagine…"

"But _where?!_"

"I don't know," replied Zidane softly, shaking his head. Rennet straightened. "When was the last time that you saw him?"

"When I was little," she replied sadly. "He is two years younger than me, but he was always defending me. He watched over me, and we were so close…I was only nine when the summoner village was destroyed, and when I was taken to that dreadful place, he came with me. He was there with me until he was twelve, and then…"

"Twelve…"

Zidane's mind went back to what happened four years ago. He could remember very little, but then something clicked in his mind. He _did _meet someone four years ago! Of course, he doubted it was him, but the age was right, and things seemed to fit…

"I think I know who he might be," said Zidane softly, barely registering it.

-

* * *

-

Zidane peered into the little tower that was his old crew's home. There seemed as if there was no one there, so he stepped in, Rennet following him. He helped her up the ladder, and gestured her to sit down on the bed. Sitting down lightly, Rennet peered at him through half closed eyes.

"Will he come back here?"

"Yes," said Zidane confidently with a nod. "I only hope that he will be the only one. I don't want to face all of them. For now, just try and get some rest, okay?"

"I don't even think I could if I _were _tired."

"Then just lay down," said Zidane, gesturing to the bed.

"Will you stay here with me?"

"Of course," he replied with a small smile. "I won't leave you…"

Smiling back, Rennet swung her legs over the side slowly, and turned her back to him, curling up. Zidane smiled at her before sitting down slowly on the floor, resting his back against the side of the bed, knees up and elbows resting on them. He closed his eyes and tilted back his head.

He must have fallen asleep, because Zidane awoke by the rough shaking of his shoulder. Peering up through half opened eyes, they suddenly widened as he became attentive, and scrambled to his feet.

"Blank!"

The thief smiled at him. Blank was one of the Tantalus brothers with tall, red hair, and mischievous eyes hidden behind a brown leather headband. He was bare shirtless, with a belt that looped up around his shoulder and his large gloves, and wore a slim groin piece that was common among bandits in the older days, with knee-high boots.

"Hey, Zidane, where have you _been_?"

"Don't even ask that question," he said sharply. "Blank, I need to ask you something…"

The pair turned sharply to look at the stirring Rennet. She moved her body a little, as she fought into wakefulness. Leaning up on her left hand, rubbing at her face with her right, She peered at them through sleepy eyes over her shoulder. Her eyes then widened in disbelief, and she scrambled off the bed, falling to the floor. Zidane caught her by the forearms at the last moment. She peered up at Blank with hope and desperation.

"Lang?! Lang, is that you?! Oh, Lang!"

"Uh," began Blank slowly, starting to back away.

Rennet threw herself out of Zidane's arms at her brother, tears filling her eyes. Blank caught her as they both fell backwards, and held the weeping young girl, trying to calm her.

"I'm sorry miss, but I think you have me confused with someone else…" Rennet looked up at him with disbelief.

"You are," she said slowly, breaking off. She pulled herself away, scrubbing at her eyes with her right arm. "I am so sorry, Sir. I thought that you were…" Zidane knelt down next to her, placing his hand on her shoulder, looking at his Tantalus brother.

"So, you're not Lang?"

"Why would you think _that_?" he asked incredulously, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Because her brother came here four years ago," Zidane stated slowly. "And he is your age…everything seemed to fit. You never talked about your past, though you mentioned your family was lost once…"

"I see," said Blank slowly, frowning slightly. "I am sorry that I could not be of any help to you. Zidane, what are you _doing_ here?"

"I…" He looked from Blank to Rennet and back, and Blank nodded. He turned to the young woman. "Here, Rennet, sleep. We'll be here the whole time, and when you wake up."

She nodded despairingly, her hopes dashed, and Zidane helped her to the bed. Once she was asleep, Zidane and Blank went down to the lower level. Blank leaned against the wall, and for a few moments, there was silence between them.

"So what is it between you and her?" Blank nodded up towards the sleeping form.

"What do you mean?" stated his companion simply, gesturing with his arms.

"Zidane," Blank spat fiercely. "Don't even _try_ and pull that. I know that there is something between you two, I can see it. To think that you have been with her the whole time while you left the rest of is guessing what happened to you…"

"That's not it!" snapped the Genome. He turned away from the bandit. "I have some things to do, and I didn't want to get everyone involved again. I know that we all are busy with out own things, and I didn't want anyone to put off what they had to do to come with me…" He turned back to his once Tantalus brother. "I don't even know if I am going to return from this one…I couldn't go see everyone, and then…"

"What about Garnet? Are you really going to just leave her thinking you're dead? Are you going to be that cruel?"

"Blank, please try to understand," said Zidane slowly. "I can't face her just yet…"

"Or are you just not seeing her because of the new girl?"

"Don't blame this on Rennet," said Zidane angrily. "Don't drag her into this."

"Too late," said Blank, brushing back his hair with his right hand. "You have become smitten with this woman, who you led to believe that I was her brother. You aren't much of a lover, I must say…"

"Don't even start," Zidane snapped. "I am helping her, and Blank if you cannot understand _that _then you know what, too bad."

Walking angrily to the ladder, and climbing up it, he strode over to the nearest bed, and shook Rennet perhaps harder than he should have. She awoke, blurry eyed and confused.

Zidane headed towards the ladder as he spoke. "Come on," he said flatly. "We're leaving."

"What?" she said, scurrying out of the bed and following. "What's going on?" She grabbed his arm as they passed by Blank, and he stopped at her voice. "Zidane!"

"We have to go now," he said flatly, not turning to her. "It would seem that we are not welcome here, and I don't want to linger. So we're leaving!"

"But," she protested softy. He turned to face her angrily, his face a mask of fury.

"I said _we're leaving!_"

She dropped her hand away from his arm, her eyes widening in fear and shock. Blank took a step towards his old friend, and reached out a hand to Zidane as if to calm him, but the Genome shook it off.

"Smarten up!" said Blank angrily. "You can't just go treating people like that! You're angry because of me, not _her_, so knock off the shit, Zidane."

For a few moments, Zidane burned pure hatred and loathing into this man, this man who was barely older than he was. But Zidane knew that Blank was right. It wasn't Rennet's fault that he was mad, and he was being an ass because of it.

"You're right," said Zidane calmly with a nod. "I am angry at you, because you have _no_ idea how hard this whole thing has been for me! I am trying to figure some things out, and you aren't helping right now!" He turned to Rennet. "Come on." She didn't protest, but stood there for a moment. Zidane stared at her in hard disbelief.

"Zidane," she said softly. "Please, calm down. I don't want you to be angry. Please, just relax a little, and then we can go."

"I'll relax along the way," he said, grabbing her arm hard enough to urge her along. Rennet looked back at Blank pleadingly as she was pulled out of there.

"Where are you going?!" Blank yelled after them, taking a step forward, his voice fierce, and his arms raised. "Zidane!"

But Zidane didn't hear his once friend's calls. He didn't _want _to hear them. He was so sick of all this bullshit, and no one ever seemed to care that _he _was the one paying for it. He had to suffer to make others happy, to make them realize what he himself didn't understand. And he was about through with it…

* * *

-

**_Themed Song: _**"Hurt" by Christina Aguilera


	8. Pasts and Futures Never Meant to Touch

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE**_

Just wanted to say that I'm sorry this chapter is so long, but it's important, and interesting at that. Here, I've connected the storylines of the past Final Fantasys together carefully. - _Ammom_

* * *

"Zidane, please, stop!"

The Genome finally gave way to Rennet's pleas. He paused in the street, the rain still pounding down relentlessly. He stood there; head bowed and body shaking as he let it all out. Rennet watched him for a moment before he spoke.

"I am so sick of all this," the man told her with an empty chuckle, making Rennet uneasy. "On top of all my friends getting pissed off of me, and the burden of finding this new guy…" He looked to the sky, holding his hands out before him. "On top of all that, it won't stop raining."

"Zidane…"

Rennet took a few steps forward, bringing her arms around his middle as she held him close, closing her eyes. Zidane dropped his enclosed arms, fists clenched. His head was bowed as he let everything around him become misted.

"Rennet, no…"

"Shh," she said softly. "It's all right now. I'm here, and I promise that I will be here if ever you should need me…" She paused, hesitant to say anything more.

"I'm sorry I got you into this," Zidane whispered.

"I came because I wanted to, Zidane," she replied softly.

"I'm sorry I got your hopes up about your brother," said Zidane dryly. "I thought that I had at last done something that was good for everyone as far as I could see. I was sure that Blank was him…"

"It doesn't matter," she said dryly, throat tightening. Rennet had been so sure herself. The man had resembled Lang greatly.

"But it does to you," Zidane noted, glancing over at her. "I know it does…"

"Not at the moment it doesn't," she said, firming her soft grip on him.

"Rennet…"

"Zidane, why don't you return to her…" He gave a little start at this. "Yes, I know that you were in love with someone. I can see it in your eyes, and when I heard what Blank said…I knew. Why don't you return to her?"

"I don't want to—"

"But that is not the reason," she interrupted softly. "You don't want to see her in fear of getting her involved. It is something else, isn't it? You don't want to see her because you can't face the truth, can you? You can't face the fact that you may really love her…"

"You don't understand," he said softly, tears coming to his eyes. "She is a princess, probably a queen by now. She is stuck up, rich, and everyone expects the best of her. She is beautiful and naïve…and everything about her I liked, and I don't know why…"

"And you still love her…"

"I don't know," he said softly. As Zidane gave it more thought, could he really see himself with Garnet? Could he really settle down? With a _queen_ at that? "When I think about her, all I see are the miserable times. The times when she was suffering, and I know that I brought about a lot of that, or at least played a part in it. There is someone out there making new Black Mages, which means that they plan war, and I don't want to return to her once she is starting to recover, and then die…"

"But she can't just recover," said Rennet softly.

"How do you know?"

"Because," she whispered in his ear. "I lost you too, and it hurt, and it wouldn't stop. I thought the pain would never end, and I knew that I had to see you again…"

"Rennet…" The words sent a shudder through the man's veins, pleasant, shocking, and fearful.

"Zidane, in case you have failed to notice, I am here with you," she said softly. "And when they have ditched you, I will still be here."

"You," he began slowly. "You broke my heart once, when you left me standing there in the rain, Rennet. I didn't realize how much of a good friend you were, and are, and how much of a mistake I was making. Right now, you're the only thing that is keeping me going."

"Zidane…"

"I don't know what it is about you, but I think that it is something that I have never quite felt before." He turned around to face her, and he was vaguely reminded of Garnet. Rennet did resemble the princess greatly, but Zidane thrust this notion aside as he told her slowly, picking his words carefully, "I don't know what it is. When I see you, I see misery and hate, joy and life…

"And when I look at you, I want to smile, and I think to myself that everything is going to be all right, because we are both still alive, and you're there beside me, to help me and give me advice. To pick me up when I am down, and catch me when I have fallen. And for that, there are no words for the feelings I have towards you."

"So what do we do now?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But whatever it is, we should probably think of it where it is dry…"

-

* * *

-

They sat beneath a line of trees, close, and not quite touching. They would glance over at one another, smiling, and then turn away, blushing. They watched the rain come down, and Rennet let out a shudder. Zidane looked at her, his wet hair plastered to either side of his face.

"Here," he said, wrapping his cloak around her shoulders. "I remembered to grab it and stuff it in my pack." She smiled at him, but then frowned as she saw a shiver run through him.

Inching over to him, she wrapped the cloak around him as well. For a moment they just looked at each other before Rennet gave a contempt smile and rested her head on his chest. Zidane leaned back, watching the rain.

"Zidane," Rennet prompted softly, almost fearfully.

"Hmm?" he replied, glancing at her. Her eyes were closed, and she pulled the cloak closer to her.

"Where _are _we going now?"

"Well," he said slowly. "Dali was the original place that made the Black Mages, so that is where the technology for it is. Whoever is making them, got the know-how from there. We head there and see what happened."

"Mmm, Dali," she mumbled softly. "I have heard great things about that village, and terrible things as well. People say it is incredibly beautiful there, and there was never a better sunset on the whole Mist Continent than there is there. Is that true?"

"I don't remember too much about the place," he admitted humbly, looking up through the over hanging foliage to the sky. "I was only there for a couple of days, but it's a beautiful place, and the sunshine was incredible. We hitched a ride on a cargo ship there to Lindblum. It was funny to see my friends' faces. Two of them hadn't ever been there before. I had never been in the castle though…"

"It seems like it might be funny. I remember my own reaction to the castle when I first arrived there." The girl gave a small chuckle, adding with a hint of glee, "I thought that the inner part of the castle was the whole thing. I remember Cid's laugh when I said this to him. I had never been in such a large place that I could remember. I had some good times for the year and a half I was there. And then…"

"Hmm?" He looked at her. Her eyes were open, and her sight was screwed up as she tried to recall something.

"And then I went back," she said slowly. "I returned to the summoner village, and I was there for a few months, but I, I can't remember what happened within that time…"

"Shh," Zidane cooed softly. "It's all right. You don't have to remember anything right now. Just rest…"

"Zidane, thank you…"

"For what?"

"For hearing me sing."

-

* * *

-

Zidane woke, but couldn't move. His eyes were open, but he wasn't seeing anything. Again that fleeting thought that he was still stuck in Lifa Tree came to mind, but he heard rustling and the soft sound of footsteps. He relaxed and his body unclenched. Where was he?

"Zidane?" It was Rennet's voice, and though she was trying to hide it, she sounded fearful. "Oh, Zidane, please tell me you're there!"

"I am," he responded calmly. "Don't worry Rennet. Where are we?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I can't see anything. But I heard them talking. They said something about bringing us to _him_, whoever that is…"

"Who did you hear talking?"

"I don't know," she answered fearfully after a moment. "Names weren't mentioned. Zidane, what's happening?"

"You two, stop talking!"

Zidane groaned as he felt someone kick him in the ribs. Rolling over onto his back, he felt his blindfold slip, and he caught a glimpse of a Black Mage's face. Then he moved, and Zidane could see the high ceiling of their imprisonment.

"Zidane, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he muttered weakly. "Give me a moment…" He took in deep breaths as he struggled with his bonds. "Alright, I'm alright. What about you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "They didn't touch me. I think they only heard you talking, or something. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he answered, half paying attention as he wracked his mind for a way out of this. A thought struck him, and Zidane asked quietly, "Tell me, can you summon anything?"

"I don't really know how," she admitted. "It just came cause I wanted to help you. I haven't done it since then."

"That's okay. Just try."

There was some struggling and a few muffled groans from somewhere about ten feet away, and then there wasn't anything. He pricked his ears for the sound of the summoning, but there was none.

"Rennet? Rennet?!"

"I'm here," she said after a moment. "Sorry, I can't. It's not that the summon isn't there, I can feel them, it's that there is something blocking it. Something is stopping the summon from coming out."

"That's alright," said Zidane, grimacing and thankful that Rennet couldn't see it. "It's fine. There must be a magic seal here. But that doesn't make much sense. Either this dude is insanely powerful, or we're in the one place I can think of with a magic seal." His mind drifted back to the struggle he and his friends had been put asleep as they were told to retrieve a seal. Zidane had almost lost his four friends because he had actually believed Kuja. Sighing, he told the waiting woman, "Though how we got here without waking up all along the way is beyond my understanding…"

"A place with a seal? Where's that?"

"Oeilvert is what the place was called," he replied, still struggling with his arms behind his back. His feet were crossed and tied as well.

"Oeilvert," Rennet repeated slowly. "Yes, I know that place! That is where the people of Terra were when they came to Gaia, and then…something happened…"

"What?! You know about Terra?!"

"Yeah," she said slowly. "I don't know how I know, but I do. And this place was where the people from Terra came to try and restore its people. It was where they first did the experiments, but something happened…"

"How do you know all this?!"

"I don't know," she admitted frantically. "I don't know! Zidane!"

"Shh," he said softly. "Don't worry about it. We'll figure it all out later. For now, try and see if you can break your bonds. They took my daggers."

"Yeah, they took my weapons as well."

"Shh!"

There were approaching footsteps, and then they stopped, and a moment later someone removed the blindfold completely. Zidane found himself staring up into the lively eyes of a Black Mage. Zidane's expression became fierce, and the Black Mage hesitated for a moment before forcing him up by his forearm. Another knelt down and broke the bonds on his feet with fire, and Zidane felt the heat through his clothing. He almost welcomed the warmth. He saw that they did the same for Rennet. As she straightened, she glanced worriedly over at her companion.

Then he felt the impact of someone as they pushed on his back. He took a few stumbled steps, and glaring at the Black Mage, began walking after the two with Rennet. He kept his eyes fixated on the two near him.

"So who's been making you?" he asked, trying to sound calm, his voice flat and harsh.

"You'll meet him soon enough," answered the one to his right. They were both a little behind him. Zidane scowled, and the other hit him roughly in the back again.

They strode into the room to the right, and here they saw a display of a world in the center. Black Mages roamed around freely, and as they moved around the display, Zidane studied the faces. None seemed to show any emotion, and they didn't seem to care about too much, nor did they pay them any attention.

In the next room, they stood on a platform, and it suddenly gave a jolt. As it began to move in a downward spiral, lights dazzling all around them in the dark, he glared his hatred and his malice into the Black Mages, and watched them as they stared back, nervous. Rennet watched them carefully, the wind picking up her hair.

When the thing came to stop, they found themselves in the spot where Zidane had once retrieved the Gulug Stone for Kuja in exchange for the safety of his friends. The room was dank and dark. Being small, it was just large enough to fit the tall, triangle altar in the back. Of course, as he remembered correctly, they had escaped on their own, and it had ended with Eiko being captured. He sighed at the memory, remembering when things were not so complex.

The Black Mages left without another glance, and Zidane watched them as they stood on the platform. He was shocked to find the sorrow and pity in their eyes, as well as their plea. He nodded, and they nodded back as the platform lifted. Zidane turned back to the alter that had once held the Gulug stone.

"You know it's funny…"

The voice was coming from behind the alter, and it was low, and light, but there was malice in it. The owner of the voice had to be young, younger than Zidane probably.

As the owner of the voice emerged, Zidane raised his eyebrows in surprise, leaning back. The person making all these Black Mages was only his age, maybe a year younger. He was a few inches taller, and he was built much like Zidane was, though there was more muscle.

The stranger had silver-white hair that was in a fashion so that the locks of hair curved up. His eyes weren't exactly large, but more like attentive. His face was curved slightly instead of hard like Zidane had expected, and his nose was straight. He had little hoop earrings all along his left ear. Zidane wasn't sure why he noticed all these small details, but he decided not to mention anything for now.

Their capturer's clothing was strange as well. He wore a pair of black, baggy pants and a black and silver vest. Over this he had a dark red with brown embroidery that was cut low in the back, which reached down to brush the ground, and cut at the sides so that his shoulders were bare. The sleeves were long and wide. His boots were of black leather that reached his knees.

"So we meet at last," he said slowly, and as he came closer, Zidane saw that he was in fact one or two years younger than him. "To think that I would finally have you in my possession, Zidane. You have caused much ruckus…"

"Who are you?" snapped the Genome, irritated with this man already. As this stranger moved, Zidane noticed that he had a tail as well. "So, what, you're a discarded Genome?" He was smirking now, but the stranger just tilted his head as if he was inspecting him.

"No, not to be exact," he said slowly. "Though that is a fitting title for you, don't you think? Dropped off here on Gaia to be destroyed, and then having your soul taken away from you by the very person that gave it to you…"

"Just shut up!" said Zidane, rage filling him at the memories. He had lost a sense of himself when he visited Terra to find that he was manufactured, just as the Black Mages were.

"Ooh, touchy touchy," noted the man musingly, holding up his hands. "Calm yourself. After all, I wouldn't have pointed out the obvious had you not gone there. But that is beside the point. The _real _point is…hmmm?"

He was studying Zidane a little closer now, and the Genome let out a soft gulp as he noticed the shifty eyes go to the Memory Earring and then the Falcon Claw. He hadn't noticed the Sand Ruby.

He strode closer, swaying in his step, but firm and sure as well. Brushing back Zidane's hair, he stared intently into the glass of the Memory Earring, his own reflection staring back. Zidane half expected the man to rip it from his socket, but instead he left his hair drop and strode back to the alter, before turning to face his captives.

"So, you hold pieces of the jewel, huh?" he said, brushing his chin with the thumb of his left hand. "Tell me Zidane, how did you get those?"

"I found them in the hand of my dying brother!" The young man raised his eyebrows at Zidane, and the Genome felt as if he were on trial. He knew that he shouldn't have given away any information so early, but he had to keep this guy on his toes.

"I see," he said slowly. "So Kuja _did _try and destroy the crystal! What a fool!" He tilted back his head, his eyes wide open as he let out a booming laugh. It was sort of light, but there was depth in it, and it sent chills through Zidane's body.

"What do you want with us?" Rennet demanded softly. Now the mysterious man turned to her.

"Well see, I really wanted Zidane, but you were there too," he explained, now looking at the Genome. "So I figured why leave loose ends, right? I knew that you both knew that I was the one responsible for the reconstruction of the Black Mages, even if you didn't know who I was exactly. Couldn't have that, now could I?" He smirked knowingly at her, and she turned away in her disgust. He turned back to Zidane.

"Now, as for you, you and I are going to have a nice chat. The Black Mages will take your friend on over to a room so she can rest under their guard, and then I can show you around."

As he said this, Black Mages had come down on the platform. Zidane nodded to Rennet, who only watched him in slight fear. She nodded back, and went with them willingly. Zidane turned back to the grinning youth.

-

* * *

-

The mysterious man led him through Oeilvert, apparently oblivious to the fact that Zidane had been here before, though he didn't explain what everything was. Zidane's bonds had been broken, and they now stood in the room before the platform, looking up at the display. The Black Mages busied themselves, paying the pair no mind.

"As you know so well, Zidane," he began, looking at the Genome. Zidane continued to watch the display, trying to make sense of the words. "Terra and Gaia were connected through one source. Lifa Tree and the mist that it projected. And then Terra was destroyed at the hands of your brother, and Garland was killed, though he did not die as you think he did…"

"What do you mean?" said Zidane slowly, looking at the youth. Despite the situation, Zidane realized that it was an open position for information. This strange man seemed almost _eager _to share what he knew.

"Well," the man replied, choosing his words, smirking openly. "Did you ever wonder why it is that Garland was able to speak to you when you were in Memoria atop Lifa Tree?"

"Well, yeah, I wondered," said Zidane slowly. "But—"

"You see," he continued, looking at the display. "He fell into a time compression that was made from the resulting energy of Kuja's trance. That is what made your memories in Memoria."

A glint entered the youth's eyes as he recalled what happened, adding almost excitedly, "He was brought back to the time where the light warriors had lived, and presumably tried to take over that time era. And so it was when the two of you were talking, that he was in the Chaos Temple, using the remains of the fallen orb of Terra's center, to speak with you. The light warriors ended his life."

"So the reason we are here now…" Zidane screwed up his sight, trying to register all this information, as he added gradually, "Ss because in the past…Kuja in the future pushed Garland into the time compression?" The notion of this made Zidane's head spin.

"Yup," said the youth cheerfully, grinning at him. "A never ending time loop. See for yourself…"

He gestured to the display and it changed to the time on Terra where he and his friends lay defeated on the ground, and Kuja in trance. There was Garland, slumped and defeated, informing Kuja about his life span. Zidane watched as was Garland kicked over the edge, wishing he himself could have done it, and watched as the frail body fell in the air, still speaking to Kuja, and then he was gone in a swirling sphere of light and mixed color. He watched the old man appear in the past, and then when he was talking to him in the temple, and then his demise. The display reverted back to the display of Terra and the writing. The youth turned to him.

"Do you believe me now?" Zidane turned to him, confused.

"Why are you showing me all this?" he asked quietly. The man just sighed, the smile slipping from his slim features.

"Zidane, you were gifted with a great and magnificent soul," he replied, eyes glinting as he spoke. "You asked me if I was Genome, and in a way I am, or was." He sighed again. "It is very confusing. Here, come with me."

Zidane watched him as he looped around him and after a moment followed the man into the next room, going straight across. They opened up to another room with a display in the middle, though it was more crowded here with the Black Mages in such a tiny place. The youth stood near the display, and gestured for Zidane to come over. The Genome did as he was bid. He wasn't in much of a position to argue or refuse.

"I was a person of Terra," he said dryly, looking at he display as it showed the once prosperous planet.

Zidane watched in awe as he saw the happy people running around, laughing and joking. And then he saw the person that had been this young man, right alongside them all. He had been a mere child, and then Zidane watched as everything in the display grew dim. He watched the sickness that began to take over everyone, and the 'decline' as it was called, take place right before his very eyes. The display returned to the planet to how it had been before.

"You see," said the young man, turning to him. "The people of Terra were once innocent. It was the people _here _that decided to take the souls of Gaia to give to those of Terra."

"But why so many?" asked Zidane softly. "I only know of one place on Terra, and that was Bran Bal. Why is it that so many souls were needed?"

"Because the people of Terra are strong," he replied. "And in order to raise the dead as you might say, they needed a soul that was almost _exactly _the same as the one that was lost. Otherwise the procedure would fail, and fail it did several times. Few Genomes were made with souls."

"I being one of them," Zidane noted with a nod.

"Right," he said, nodding back.

"So what happened to the ones that didn't work?"

"Well," he replied slowly. "In a sense, the Genome died. And the soul that was trying to inhabit the body was torn asunder. The soul was ripped into two parts, and as a result, one, the human half, was lost forever…"

"And the other part?" He faced the display, his face dark.

"It became a fiend."

"What?!"

"Yeah," he said, looking at Zidane slowly, nodding. "That is why there are fiends now. Terra had always been messing with souls, so even before its decline, there were fiends."

"But shouldn't it stop?" said Zidane, gesturing with his arms as if it were obvious. "If that is the case, and now that Terra is destroyed, it should stop, right? There shouldn't be any new fiends!"

"No," he replied, shaking his head slowly. "It _can't _stop. It has become part of the system now. The souls remain within Lifa Tree, and then they are brought out in the failed attempt to be reborn. We are not sure what happens to the human half of the soul."

"Wait," butted in the Genome. "What do you mean human half?"

"Well," he said slowly, sticking in his tongue out in clear thought. "There are two sides really. One houses all the malice and hatred, while the other houses the calmer emotions. They balance each other out so that the person doesn't go berserk, but neither do they lose their need to survive, their need to fight. It is split, and well, yeah…"

"This makes little sense," said Zidane flatly. "So you were a member of Terra…what happened? Why are you here then?"

"I was more than just a member," he replied softly. "I was the prince. But I was disowned, and I was remade in secret. Kuja was the one that made me, not Garland. I was a specifically designed Genome with my own looks. I was made…" He looked at him sternly. "To destroy you."

"What? You were…" All Zidane could do was stare at the man, transfixed. He wanted to step away, to turn and run, but with so many Black Mages around, it would be impossible to get away.

"Yeah," the youth said with a nod, paying Zidane's nervousness no mind. "And then Mikota was made in case you failed, or in case I killed you. It seemed likely one of these would happen…"

He began walking again, but he strode up the platform past all the bustling Black Mages now. Zidane hesitated before following him at a slower pace. Striding through the doors to the right, Zidane followed the youth along the suspended pathway, the blue lightning sparked around them, to the circular platform in the center. Here the mysterious man tapped the glowing orb, and turned around to face the display as it showed Terra's decline.

There was silence between them as he watched it. Zidane looked from the display to this new version of a Genome that had been made to destroy him. Is this what everyone had meant? Was this what he was supposed to understand? There was no expression on the youth's face, but his eyes were grim, and his mouth tight. Zidane almost pitied the man. He probably would have if the youth hadn't captured him.

"They didn't accept me," he said after a while, and Zidane turned from the display to him. It was a moment before he spoke again. "They all spoke of how great Kuja was, and how he was going to bring to them the needed souls. They spoke of you in a similar way, even though you were on Gaia."

"Why did Kuja make you if he was going to drop me on Gaia where Garland was going to destroy the summoners?"

"I was made before that," he replied quietly. "But when I refused to kill you when I had the chance, he became angry with me, and instead took the chance, and dropped you there."

"Why didn't you? Kill me, that is?" He looked at Zidane, and Zidane felt the intensity of his gaze.

"Because you didn't want to fight," he replied softly. "Even though you knew you were to destroy Gaia, and you didn't feel really anything for those on that planet, you didn't want to fight me. When I forced you into battle, you fought with valor. And when I went to kill you, I asked you again why you didn't want to fight. You said…"

"What?" He paused, as if giving it thought.

"You said that you could never kill a brother," he said softly. "I had always wanted Kuja to treat me like a brother, and it took me a long time to realize that the real brother was you…"

"Uh…"

Zidane closed his mouth, his upper lip over the bottom as his face became grim. So this Genome, he had once considered him his brother? That explained why he had been attentive to every detail as he watched this man come out before him. But what was he to do now? What was he supposed to tell him?

"You don't remember, do you?" the man asked softly. Zidane opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it, shaking his head.

"No, I don't," he admitted, twisting his mouth a little. There was nothing in his mingled memories of this man.

"I figured as much," he said, facing the display again.

"Who are you? Why are you making more of these Black Mages?" He looked at Zidane, and all he could do was let out a loud gulp at those eyes.

"I once was known as the prince, but now I am going by the name Demean."

"Demean…" He nodded. "That is not a good name for you. It means lower, and that is not a name that anyone should have…"

"Then what do you suggest?" he said quietly.

"What was your original name?"

"Why? I hate that name along with my past."

"But see, that's the thing," said Zidane, gesturing with his arms. "Our past is everything, because it is what makes us now. So to shut out our past is like saying we never came into being, that we never truly were, and we're not living now."

"You still do not understand," he said softly.

"No," said Zidane slowly, shaking his head. "You're so enwrapped up with what you get out of something. You only see things that are in your favor, but do you ever think of someone else? How what you do might affect them?"

"Why would it matter if it doesn't affect me?" he said, scowling at this.

"That's my point," said Zidane with a sigh. "You _don't _care, and then one of these days, it will come back to you. It's what got everyone before you who were too enwrapped with their ambitions, and it is what will get you."

"Hey, what I do are for my reasons only," he said angrily, jutting his thumb at himself. "I choose my name, and I choose what I do!"

He stopped as he realized what it was that Zidane had been trying to tell him. Demean lowered his arm, and stared at the older man in disbelief and cold fury. Zidane let slip a smile as he saw the look on this youth's face.

"Right," said Zidane with a nod. "_You _choose what you want to do, and I think that that is what stopped you from killing me. It has been so long, that I think you just forgot. Now tell me, who are you?"

He seemed to think about this, and the youth turned to the display, his eyes dim as if he still doubted what was staring him straight in the face. When he spoke, his voice was low, but it held determination.

"My name is Ferias."

-

* * *

-

When Zidane awoke the next day, or so he assumed it was the next day, he still found himself in the room that Ferias had applied him with. Rennet was in here also, lying in the bed across from him, still asleep. He gave a little smile at her peacefully slumbering form. Sitting up, he stretched before getting to his feet, scratching at his side.

He headed out of the door, and down the staircase to the bottom, past the bustling Black Mages to the room before the platform. Here he found Ferias staring up at the display of Gaia and Terra next to each other, and watched them become one, as was planned originally. Ferias looked over at him as he approached.

"Ah, Zidane," he greeted with a grin. "Good morning! Nice to see you're up, though I must say that it is almost noon. You slept in pretty late…"

"What can I say," he replied with a grin. "I'm lazy like that." Ferias let out a laugh at this, and Zidane felt another shudder run through him, though it was less than when he had first heard him laugh.

"Sorry about that," said Ferias, seeing his expression. "I have that affect on people. Working on it though." He grinned broadly and it was Zidane's turn to laugh.

"You never told me," said Zidane slowly. "Why are you making Black Mages? Are you planning war? And what are those Reversers?" Ferias looked away at this, his eyesight dim and his expression bleak.

"Zidane, something is coming," he replied softly. "Something big. I can feel it, and so can they." He gestured to the Black Mages around them, working and testing various controls, nodding or shaking their heads. "All magic creatures can. I don't know what it is, but it's _big_. As for the Reversers, I released them to help. I am not planning war, I am setting up for it…_against_ it."

"And what will you do when it comes?" said Zidane, looking around him. "There will be many deaths. You cannot change the numbers by making more Black Mages. You can't just throw away their lives…"

"I'm not," he said quietly. "_They _are throwing away their own lives. Last night I sent word saying that they were free to leave at any time. I received message back saying that they are going to stay and fight. There will be nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide…"

"Why is this happening?" asked Zidane softly, shaking his head in disbelief. "What is going on? Tell me, Ferias!" The Genome turned to Zidane, his face dreary. The youth was taken aback by the prince's sudden change in emotion.

"Zidane, it is like guessing why we are here in the first place," he answered softly. "None of us _really _know why this happening, or even exactly what is going on. But we know that we must fight, that we must stand up for ourselves, cause what else is there to do?" Zidane wasn't sure what to say to this. He could understand Ferias' reasoning, but it also scared him.

Zidane stared at the display, not really seeing it, as he thought about this. Something _big _was coming, he could sense it as well, but he had thought, no, he had _hoped_, that it was the just the aftermath of what happened up in Memoria. Now he knew that that had been just a test run for what was really going to happen. Despite the number of tests, would he ever be ready? Would _anyone_ be ready?

"What do we have to do?" he asked, not turning to Ferias. Ferias also stared at the display, grim satisfaction in his voice.

"We must do all we can to prepare, to stop whatever it is that is coming. We must lead an army that will devastate anything that opposes it…"

"And if it's not large enough? Not _strong_ enough? What then?"

"I don't know," he admitted quietly. "We fight with all we have, and we don't stop fighting until one side is down. If we don't fight, then what? We wait for it to kill us? I don't know about you, but I am not about to let that happen…"

"I don't know," replied Zidane softly. "I don't know what to do. I don't want more war; I just want it all to end. Why does it have to be like this? Is there nothing we can do to prevent all of this from happening?"

"It's too late," he said with a shake of his head. "We must find the key…"

"The key?" He turned to Ferias in surprise.

"Yes," he replied, not looking at him.

Zidane jumped back as the display turned to the decline of Terra and then to the destruction of Madain Sari, and then to the downfall of Lindblum, followed by Alexandria's old queen's demise, and to the destruction of Alexandria itself, ending with Terra's own destruction. As all of this played, over and over again, Zidane watched in shock as the fire of the destruction danced in Ferias' eyes as he spoke, not turning to him.

"The key is what we need. The key holds the thing that will decide the fate of this upcoming war. They alone hold the crystal…"

"The crystal?"

"The crystal used to make Zemus reveal his true form, to come out as Zeromus."

"Zeromus," said Zidane slowly, turning to the destruction that played before them continuously. "Terra, the key, the crystals…what is all of it really?"

"Zeromus was the ruler of Terra," said Ferias dryly. "It was once known just as the moon, but there were two, Terra really being a planet. Back then Terra was primitive, and the decline had already begun. But after Zeromus was destroyed, the people came out of their hiding places, and rebuilt everything, making it better.

"But then a new force threatened out life style, and we sealed him. Then there was war between Exdeath and those who wished to prosper, and eventually Exdeath was destroyed, and Terra was left in peace."

A quiet despair filled Ferias' voice as he continued, "Everyone had thought the planet had left, never to come back. But it did, and everyone forgot what happened, and the wars that raged between the two planets. Soon the decline _really _began, and the soul transfer was restarted."

"What do you mean 'restarted'," snapped Zidane. "There was an attempt before this?!"

"Yes," replied Ferias with a nod. "There was a tree that was planted that was meant for the transfer, but sadly the forest and the tree as well was burned to the ground. There were two trees later planted. One failed, while the other prospered. One you know as Lifa Tree, and the other was destroyed by an Eidolon. I believe that you people called it Cleyra."

Zidane's eyes widened as he remembered the event. He and his friends had been in Cleyra to check things out, and to warn the rats that had lived there of the force heading their way, lead by Brahne and Kuja. But little did they know that the Eidolons had been drawn from Garnet, and after following Beatrice to the Red Rose, Odin had destroyed the rat town, along with the beautiful tree that had secured it. Cleyra used to be a legend, protected by a large sandstorm, but some powerful magic had dispersed that storm after one hundred years of continuation, and so led to Cleyra's downfall.

"So the tree Cleyra was in, was…"

"Yup," he said, still not looking at him. "A tree meant to transfer souls. But something went wrong, and so it was just an oversized, prospering plant. I guess the rats found it intriguing to build their town far off the ground. Ironic, huh?"

"Why only two? Why not one on each continent?"

"Because they wouldn't have survived, and there was either no, or little life anywhere else. It would be pointless, and a waist of time, especially as it proved to be at fault…"

"So do you even know what this new force is _like?_ What it can do, what it _does?_ Or even when it is _coming?_" Zidane threw his arms out behind him in his own frustration.

"No," said Ferias calmly, shaking his head slowly. "We don't. But we should be ready for it at any time. It could be here today, tomorrow, ten, twenty, even a hundred years from now. But since we _don't _know when it is coming, we have to get ready so that it doesn't take us by complete surprise."

Thinking back to all that had happened, a thought struck him, and Zidane asked suddenly, "Ferias, why was it that that Reverser attacked the trolley? It sent fiends towards a trolley I was on. _Why?_"

Ferias strode over to him, firm in his step, and brushed up his hair, revealing the crystal piece that hung from Zidane's ear. He watched it like he had before, and Zidane found himself afraid to move. There was loathing, _longing_, in those eyes.

"This is why," he said softly. "Reversers are attracted to the crystal pieces. They desire the power. They want to touch it, feel it, let it envelope them…" He let Zidane's hair drop, taking a step backwards.

"What are they?" the Genome whispered almost fearfully.

"It's hard to say," said Ferias slowly. "They are those who are corrupted by the crystal's power, those who would do _anything _to have that power, even a taste of it, including giving up their lives. They were given magnificent power, but that power changed them, and they became something other than human…"

"What?"

"We originally called them sorceresses, and there were even those trained to kill them, but these facilities became useless. A sorceress in the future proved that these facilities would fail, and the world has changed greatly since that time. We have reverted back to the medieval ways. Our villages, our cities…they were all destroyed, along with our technology. The only thing that stayed really was the basic design for ships and airships.

"But our airships now couldn't do what the past ones could. The past ones could go into space, and now that too is lost to us. They use to even have great pieces of metal designed to remain in space for years."

"So what happened?"

"The time compression changed everything," he answered, shaking his head slowly. "There was a time compression in which they went to destroy the sorceress in the future who continuously took control of the sorceresses in the past, only to find that it was one of their friends…"

"What did they do?"

"Nothing," he hissed softly. "They hoped that they had stopped it from happening, that she wouldn't change, but they were wrong. They had screwed something up, they tampered with something they shouldn't have, because the sorceresses that gathered in the future, were there in the center of the time compression, and they came back to the past, and they shattered_everything_. They wanted to change the future, well they did." Malice and frustration had filled the man's eyes as he spoke, growing until it burned fiercely.

"So those Reversers are the sorceresses?" Zidane prompted uneasily with a gulp.

"Yes," Ferias replied with a nod, easing back into a state of calm. "And they are attracted to the crystal, so it had to be broken into four pieces, and split up. After this, the crystal that revealed Zemus for who he really was, was used to keep the seal on the Reversers. It was placed in pieces into someone's body, and when the time came, it was transferred over into someone else's. But it always remained on Terra, so that it was almost impossible for the seal to be broken."

"Where were the Reversers kept? Where were they sealed away?"

"The only place that could be thought of," he said slowly. "They were sealed away within the tree itself."

"I don't understand," snapped Zidane angrily. "How did these sorceresses come about to be anyway? Yeah, I understand that they sought the crystal, but what gave them the power?"

"Well," Ferias replied slowly, taking a few steps before turning to Zidane. "At first it was assumed that the power was born within them, but magic was once common amongst the modern day people, and those people became fiends, and so the fiends, some of them anyway, had magic.

"The crystal seekers drew the magic from the fiends so much that the magic became their being, and so it was developed that summons were used to help take control of this magic. You could not use magic without first taking in a summon, and only those who were trained in the facilities had them. There were a few exceptions…"

"So why is it that people nowadays use magic as well?"

"Only some though," he pointed out. "And those who are from a direct bloodline, or are summoners. Summoners had magnificent magical power. That is one of the main reasons that Garland feared them, and so decided to kill them."

"This is all so strange…"

"I know," said Ferias with a nod. "It is, but trust me, it is the truth."

"I don't have much of a choice," said Zidane, shaking his head a little. "I mean, it all fits, and it all makes sense. And why would you make all this up, and how? Wow, this is so muck to take in…"

"Trust me," he said with a grin. "I know. I had to watch it all. What I am telling you is just the gist of everything."

"What do you mean you had to _watch it all?_" said Zidane, narrowing his eyes. Ferias gave a hefty sigh.

"Zidane, when I awoke again from deep slumber, I was here," he replied softly. "And it was here that I temporarily lost my sanity. I was stuck here, watching and loving the history that is of both this world, and of Terra's. It was a nightmare, and it took me the longest time to recover from it."

"But, why?" Ferias gave another deep sigh.

"Because, regardless of what happened, I am of the royal family bloodline," he admitted. "Zidane, look at my eyes…"

Zidane stared into those pupils, for the first time really noticing them, and he felt fear take him. The pupils were jet black, but the eye color was a mixture of light blue, blue, and green. Floating amongst these hues was a mixture of black specks, and red mist-like liquid, and Zidane feared that it might be blood.

"Do you see?" he said softly. "It is the mark of the royal family, and each member has to know the past and the present, and what we_can _know of the future of Terra, and of the worlds it overtakes, and the results. This is the same for the advisor. Garland knew all of this as well."

"Garland…"

Zidane watched Ferias as he returned the gaze. Zidane felt strange, as if he had known this youth all his life. But he felt like he was just now finding out a deadly secret that he had never wanted to know about him as well, and maybe he was right. Ferias was strange, stranger than perhaps anyone he had met thus far, though Rennet put up a good fight.

Something wasn't right here, and Zidane knew that it had something, not just to do with Ferias and Rennet, but with him as well…

-

* * *

-

Zidane strode back into the room where he had spent the previous night, not looking at Rennet as he sat down numbly on his bed, elbows on knees as he leaned his body forwards, staring at something on the ground he couldn't see, his sight dim.

"Zidane? Are you alright?"

He looked at her, unsure of what to say. After Ferias had told him about the history of the two planets, he had taken a walk around Oeilvert for a few hours, oblivious to what was happening around him. Had Ferias told her what he had told him?

"Did Ferias tell you about Terra and Gaia?" he asked dryly, raising his eyes to her only.

"Yeah," she said with a nod. She sat on her bed across from him. He gave a deep sigh. "It makes a lot of sense about some things…"

"Yeah," he said with a nod, bowing his head. "That's the way I felt too."

"So…do we help him?" she asked uneasily, shifting uncomfortably on her bed. Rennet was at a lost of what to do, and still felt uneasy about trusting this strange man.

"I don't know," he replied with a shake of his head. "Help him prepare for war? I don't want to be involved with any more wars. We just got done with one."

"I know," she said quietly. "But what else can we do? The sorceresses are going to make things even harder than they are now. We have to do _something_ about the things going on while there is time…right?"

"I suppose," he said with a nod. To Zidane, they both sounded unsure. "But I don't want to be part of any army."

"So," she said slowly, promptly rising to her feet with a smile. "Let's go and find these Reversers, and let's get rid of them." He shook his head, chuckling. "What?"

"Alrighty," he said, suddenly rising to his feet, startling her. "Let's find us some Reversers then!"

-

* * *

-

Zidane stood in the room with the cracked stone faces in the wall. He had come here once before, on his way to retrieve the Gulug Stone and the faces had told him about the decline. He stood there, staring at these stone, cracked, and broken faces again, tilting his head a little to the side, and studying them.

"They won't give you any answers." Zidane turned suddenly to see Ferias stride over to stand beside him, also staring up at the stone faces. "They have said their piece, and they won't say anymore."

"So this is all that is left of their records," said Zidane slowly, turning back to them. "And now these too are gone…"

"Don't think of it that way," said Ferias with a shake of his head. There was silence between them for a few minutes. When Ferias spoke, he didn't turn to the Genome. "So, you're leaving, aren't you?"

"Yeah," he replied casually with a nod. "We are going to go and deal with the sorceresses…." Ferias paused before speaking.

"They are powerful, I don't need to tell you that. They will tear you and her asunder…there is no doubt to their power, nor will they show you mercy. That part of them left them a long time ago…"

"I know," said Zidane with a nod. "But it is better than doing nothing…"

"You can stay here, and help prepare," said Ferias after a moment. "Your strength would be welcomed."

"I know," he said again. "But I can't. I can't be in an army, because then I am fighting right alongside everyone else, doing the same thing when I could do so much more…"

"So you'd throw away your life instead?!" Ferias barked at him, turning to the Genome angrily. But Zidane met the gaze calmly.

"It wouldn't be throwing my life away if I did it for a purpose that _I _at least believe in," he said calmly, straining to keep his voice firm. "I want to show to this world that you don't need to be more powerful then them to take the stand and stop them."

"So you're going to show them this by taking a stand, and then taking the dive for it? What will that do, but discourage the people even more!"

"Well, perhaps they will get the message you're not receiving," snapped Zidane lightly. "These people are not as stupid as you seem to think they are. False and unworthy rulers and a life of peace misguided them. When that war came, they didn't know _how_ to react to it, cause all of those who did was too old to do anything about it."

"And you think that they will listen to the actions of two people?"

"Maybe," he said, frowning slightly. "And maybe not. Whatever the case, we shall see. These sorceresses are going to begin to attack more people than just me, and what will be the people's reaction? They will be unprepared, and they will have no clue how to deal with them. They will scatter in their fear."

"Because they are weak, and cannot stand up to those things. Few can. That is why we need the Black Mages!"

"Except that they manipulate them!" Zidane said, finally snapping in his fury. "And the fiends as well! They haven't yet attacked the villages or the kingdoms, so there is still a chance to stop them with few casualties!"

"And how will you find them? They are scattered everywhere!"

"They will go where there are people," said Zidane softly. "I will head for the Mist Continent, and search for them there. They can sense the crystal, so they will come to me."

"You won't be able to do much without my help," hissed Ferias quietly, rage burning in his retinas.

"The only help that I want from you is transportation to the Mist Continent," said Zidane, shaking his head slowly. "That is all that I ask. You don't have to believe that what I am doing is right. I don't expect that you support it, but I expect that you respect my decision."

"Your mind has been stained with the thoughts of impurity, and your hands with the blood of those you will kill by doing this…"

"Yeah," said Zidane slowly, looking at his hands, and then at Ferias, his expression unyielding. "But it is with these same hands that I will save just as many, if not more. These hands are mine alone to control, and because they are _mine_, I will do with them what I wish. I can only hope that what I do is right.

"This world had entered a dark age that I thought twice had come out of it, but it hadn't. And once again the world will be thrown into chaos. Except that this time, I won't wait for that chaos to find me, _I _will find _it_."

-

* * *

-

Zidane watched as the airship began to rise off the ground. He looked down below at the figure that was Ferias. He hadn't been there when Zidane had boarded, but had now just arrived.

Ferias just stood there, watching the airship take off, and Zidane wondered if this was how Garnet had felt, knowing that she might never see him again. It didn't bother Zidane too much, but he did feel a tug at his heart.

This youth, this man, had taken a step up to change the future that awaited this world, even though it might not be in his own time, and he had done it using what he could. Ferias had supplied him with the information he needed, and Zidane was grateful towards him for what he had been told.

He felt Rennet's hand on his as he looked down at the figure below, growing small and distant. He looked at her through dreary eyes, she offered him a sad smile, and Zidane watched her as she went to the other side, leaving him with his thoughts.

When he looked back down at Ferias, the airship had stopped rising, and just hovered in the air. Ferias' look was determined and strained, his bloodied eyes forever unblinking, and his boyish face stained forever with the thoughts and wonders that held this planet together.

Zidane couldn't help but feel as he watched this youth that what he was doing might be useless and hopeless like Ferias had said, but he couldn't help think regardless, that it was right. What he was _doing_ was right; even if it only accomplished making the people of Gaia more alert to the danger they were facing.

* * *

-

**_Themed Song: _**"Just Close Your Eyes" by Waterproof Blonde


	9. Glimpses of the Unseen

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE**_

All right, so this is a rather short chapter, but I _am _back to working on this story. Expect more soon. _- Ammom_

* * *

After being dropped off near Alexandria, Zidane and Rennet stood on its streets, watching the people pass by them. Looking at Rennet, she looked back at him, and they exchanged nods before heading down the peaceful, empty, cobblestone street.

The same fake exuberance they shared earlier had dispersed now. Soaked to the bone already, a shudder ran through Zidane that had nothing to do with the cold. Pulling his swathing cloak more closely around him, the hem brushing against his boots, the youth peered cautiously around him – half expecting someone to recognize him. His wet and heavy tail was clasped firmly around his waist for concealment, and it felt thoroughly uncomfortable there.

Rennet walked with an open assurance, cloak hood pulled up. Her stride was easy and smooth, as she remained unaware of her companion's weariness. Watching her, Zidane felt strangely drawn and uneasy by the small, relaxed smile on her face.

As they neared the town square, the rain pelting down on them in the night air, they stopped, seeing the guards watching them suspiciously from tall, closed castle gates. Smile broadening into a grin, Rennet beckoned for the Knights of Pluto over. The two frail men hesitated, shifting slightly where they stood, their armor clanking crisply in the cold air. Zidane clasped the wrist of Rennet's beckoning hand firmly. She looked at him, glaring hard through the rain.

"No," said Zidane flatly, heart bursting against his chest. "Let them be. We are not here to pick fights with anyone, Rennet. We are here to check for the…" He looked around before turning back to her, his voice low. "We are here for sorceresses, and those are the only ones that we're fighting with, are we clear?"

Rennet pulled her arm away, and pulled her other hand from the sheath at her side, muttering an agreement before looking around her. Instead, she diverted her attention to the few the bustling people. Mysterious and wondering eyes that watched the pair from their home doorways or through curtained windows with suspicious glances. The news of the assault on the mist subway cart had raised awareness to a growingly disturbing situation. Trust was a dainty choice now.

The girl continued to glare at Zidane for several minutes as they passed by the castle and down the alleyway. They had to shimmy past the gathering puddles growing vastly in the streets. Some shingles from the homes had even been washed down, and lay broken in scattered piles. The people were breaking with the town.

Those peering grimly out their windows stood dejectedly. Alexandria had just come out of a war – they weren't ready for another. The world was still trying to rebuild itself from the Eidolons' destructive power. Except this time, it was _Kuja_, not the former Queen Brahne, who had attacked Alexandria. The castle's forces was no match for the powerful Bahamut. Instead, it was Garnet and Eiko who awoke the castle's true form, and took the fight into their hands.

Shaking his head to clear these painful thoughts, remembering how he had leapt dangerously onto a falling platform to save Garnet, Zidane raised his gaze to a waiting Rennet. She stood, watching him with a wondering and worrisome look. Giving her a little grimace, Zidane strode forward, and they started up again, heading towards the small docks in the back of the town.

Standing at those docks, Zidane lifted his head to the strong wind that blew. The ocean spread endlessly before them, and the distinct smell of sea salt was somehow comforting. Relaxing with a sigh, the man shook his head in defeat. Being in Alexandria, he felt drawn to the castle and Garnet inside it. He couldn't return to her – not just yet.

Side glancing at a waiting Rennet, Zidane felt his heart tugging him to her. What should he do?

The subject matter of his love life though would have to wait. Clearing his throat from the uncomfortable lump building in it, Zidane noted, "We should get a room at the inn. There's nothing we can do for now."

After a moment, Rennet nodded slowly, but remained where she was. Instead, the woman turned her gaze to the sea, as if expecting something. When nothing changed, she just shook her head and quietly followed him back into town.

-

* * *

-

Everything about that night seemed off-balance and disoriented. The rain remained at the same steady beat, but the sound of it pelting on the shingles grew disdain in the people's hearts. The night shifted by slowly. There was hardly a difference between night and day now.

Sitting on his bed, legs thrown over the side, Zidane rubbed at his temples in thought. A growing headache reminded the man of the horrible past few days he had experienced. Besides the mist engine assault and the unnerving truth behind Rennet's boldness, he was also captured – told impeccable truths that now threatened to extinguish life.

It all came down to the crystal.

Pulling out the Falcon Claw necklace from his shirt, Zidane stared down at the smooth, curved object with rage and dislike. This small, beautiful thing had gotten the world into so much trouble. Hand clasping around it firmly as rage shook his arm, Zidane finally let loose, and thrust it against the far wall.

It struck the plaster hard before falling to the ground harmlessly. At the resounding bang, Rennet's ears pricked, and she sat up quickly. For a few moments, she cast her gaze around for the source of the noise, but seeing Zidane slumped over and calm now, relaxed as well.

Uncertain by the man's actions and quietness, Rennet prompted carefully, "Zidane?"

Shuddering as if struck, Zidane released a deep breath before managing to croak out, "It's nothing." Clearing a raspy and clogged voice, he rubbed at his neck.

Grimacing at his answer, Rennet just shook her head, unsure of what to say. She didn't understand Zidane's connection to this place, but it was stronger than his connection to her was. Tossing back the thick blankets, she hesitantly stood up. Remaining where she was on hesitant feet, Rennet continued to watch her companion worriedly. Zidane looked on the brink of saying something, but instead, he just shook his head and lay down on the bed again. The man didn't even look back as he drew the covers up over himself.

After a minute, Rennet sat down in defeat, slumping her narrow shoulders with a sigh. Her companion was greatly unnerved by being in the city, but with the disappearance of the fourth piece of crystal, all assumptions led to the queen. Rennet didn't know much about Garnet other than that she was kidnapped on her sixteenth birthday, and didn't return until after her mother's death. Rumors soared of how it came about, but there was no doubt that Queen Brahne had it coming.

Consumed with greed and a lust for power, Alexandria's former ruler struck out at the Mist Continent and the others kingdoms holding the crystal shards. Darkness tainting her soul and mind, she stole the summons from her daughter and used them as tools of destruction, and in the end, it was her own puppets that took her life.

_That was the mysterious man_, Rennet realized with a slow shake of her head. Upon a visit to the night-covered city Treno, she had come across a strange figure. His distinct look had made Rennet quiver and quickly move on. It felt as if he were able to see the spirits lying dormant quietly within her.

Trembling a little now, the woman forced the memories from her mind – reminding herself that Zidane proclaimed Kuja dead. Shifting herself onto the bed, Rennet closed her eyes to Zidane's still form, letting sleep drift away worries.

-

* * *

-

Settling his pack and grasping the silk, warm cloak hanging on a hook from the wall, Zidane pulled it around his shoulders. Heart pumping in his ears, all he could think about was, _Why am I here?_

Garnet had the entire Alexandria battle force and backup from Regent Cid's troops to protect her. What difference would one man make? The other three crystal pieces would just draw more attention. He couldn't let the sorceresses have them and their power, but he couldn't place them in another person's hands – knowing the risks. Zidane was caught with them, and all he could think to do was to keep them in his possession until he could figure things out. Maybe there was a way to send the sorceresses back.

_I can't see her_, Zidane thought, panicking now as his hands fumbled and dropped some folded clothing. Kneeling to pick up the crumpled clothing, a box of matches fell from his pocket, scattering across the floor. _I can't be here. _With quivering hands he hurriedly tried to drag them closer, breaking several in the process.

Fed up now, and finally snapping, Zidane thrust the pile away. The matches struck against the wall, bouncing off harmlessly. Thrusting his face into his hands, shaking harder now, the man tried to drown out his friends' disappointed and angry voices by grinding his teeth. He had to leave.

Zidane knew he had to go. There was no point in staying in Alexandria. His mixed feelings towards Garnet and Rennet were conflicting and hurtful. He felt as if he were being pulled in every direction. It was as if his every move was being judged.

_I've been playing the wrong moves_, Zidane told himself, huddling his knees closer to his chest. _Ever since I decided to try to save Kuja…_

Was he in the wrong about trying to save his brother? Was it really as foolish as he knew everyone else must have saw it? The look on Garnet's face – the dreary rise of anger behind her eyes – when he said he wasn't heading back…

The memory burned his retinas.

"Regent Cid," Zidane muttered, lowering his hands from his face. Staring at his roughened palms, he knew he had to see the man. Lindblum's ruler would know how to help – how to fight back against these horrible creatures threatening them. There was telling of Cid helping to rebuild the destroyed city, Burmecia.

Lifting himself up, taking the pack and leaving the scattered matches, Zidane paused as his eyes caught on Rennet's still, sleeping form. He didn't want to endanger her. The summoners were wonderful people with a great responsibility. He was relieved to find there was another. Sending another summoner to her death because of his heritage was too much for Zidane.

_I'm sorry… _

Shaking his head and shouldering the pack a bit awkwardly – shifting to get it into a more comfortable position – Zidane tiptoed around the bed and past Rennet's to the door. Opening it quietly, he stopped and peered back at her peaceful, blank expression.

Zidane felt like he should do something – leave her a message or perhaps wake her. However, the woman would try to stop him. Shaking his head, Zidane strode quietly to the bed, and leaning over, whispered in her ear, "Please take care of yourself." Kissing her forehead gently, Zidane motioned away quietly.

Without pausing at the doorway this time, the man left silently.

-

* * *

-

The airship departing to Lindblum still hadn't arrived. Zidane was sitting on a bench with his cloak wrapped closely around him in the crisp morning air. The days were growing shorter and the nights longer. Winter was fast approaching to the Mist Continent. An elderly, hunched man sat on the other end of the bench quietly. Zidane could make out frost on the man's thick, bushy mustache. How long had he been sitting there?

Pushing thoughts of the man away, trying to drive the cold from his mind, he instead redirected his attention to a woman in clean, pressed clothes. She stood holding her daughter's hand, who was swinging on the balls of her feet in boredom. Zidane smiled, giving her a small smile. The little girl returned it before her arm was tugged by her disapproving mother. The noble woman gave him a contempt look and a sniff before redirecting her attention as the aircraft pulled up beside the dock.

Shaking his head at the woman's reaction, Zidane forced himself to his feet. Shouldering his pack, he eyed the unmoving man. Shifting on his feet as a man in a blue uniform appeared from the airship ramp – announcing a soon departure, he cast his glance back to the unmoving elder. Maybe he was deaf.

Opening his mouth to say something, Zidane was suddenly cut off as the man's lips parted and he said in a level, soft voice without looking at him, "Memories are nice, but that's all they are." As Zidane leaned in closer – baffled by this statement – the man suddenly clasped his arm hard. Turning a furrowed and drawn face to the youth, he said in a more forceful voice, "Outside the dream world, life can be harsh – even cruel, but it is life."

Suddenly letting Zidane's shaking and struggling arm go, the fire died from the man's eyes. A feeble look came over him, and getting stiffly to his feet, headed towards the streets without a glance back. Zidane stood, watching him go with a puzzled look. Heart beating against his chest, the man had to swallow to close his mouth.

There had been someone else behind the old man's eyes when he spoke.

"Last call for boarding!" The quivering, loud voice reminded Zidane of the airship.

Lifting his gaze and quickly re-shouldering his slumped pack, the youth hurried over. Showing the attendant the ticket he bought, Zidane quickly ducked his way in. barely avoiding collision with a passing couple, he gazed around the small room. There was a desk towards the back, and halls running left and right. A door stood shut beside the wooden reception desk. A man behind the counter was speaking politely with a man, gesturing down the right hallway. Thanking the receptionist, stepping aside quickly to avoid hitting into Zidane, he followed a woman out of the small room.

The young man gave Zidane a pure welcoming smile, clearly pleased with his job. "Hello, and welcome to the flight of the Falcon; the only commercial transportation between the Lindblum and Alexandria kingdoms. May I direct you towards a room?"

Giving this thought for a moment, Zidane prompted, "How long is the ride?"

"About four hours or so," the man confessed. "Taking in the factors of the mist and air traffic."

"I'm fine then," Zidane told him, adding, "But could you direct me towards the dock?"

Nodding, and a little disappointed, the clerk gestured around the room, saying, "Take either hallway down to the end. There will be a set of stairs that will take you up four floors and out into the open air. Be careful though – the mist has some negative effects sometimes. Please speak with one of the attendants in blue if you're experiencing any numbness, nausea, or disorientation."

Giving his thanks, Zidane decided to take the right hall, curiously watching the back of a red and black dressed individual. The tall black, cowboy hat and leather boots caught his interest. The person was taller then most people – silver-white hair wispy around their shoulders. By the lean figure, Zidane couldn't tell if the person was a man or woman.

Pace quickening, wishing to speak with the intriguing looking individual, Zidane was disappointed as they turned into a room to the side. Giving a sigh, and scuffing his feet against the golden embroidered, red rug, he strode slowly down the hall. Moving aside to let a couple pass by him, he observed the happy and excited faces of those around him.

What was it about being on an airship that made people feel lighter? It was as if they had left their worries and troubles with the ground. It was good to see them like this though – it gave Zidane some hope, and inspired his need to keep them safe.

Step a bit heavier as the smile slipped from his face, he reached the stairs, and letting a chattering group come down past him, he began to slowly climb. Thoughts of what the future battles would bring made him a bit uneasy. If he died, would anyone replace him in this purpose? Would Ferias?

The reincarnated prince baffled Zidane. He didn't understand what Ferias was doing exactly. He wanted the Reversers to leave as well, but he was resorting to violence. Didn't he understand that the world had suffered enough after the last war? The sight of the Black Mages would send a shudder and panic through the people.

Reaching the top, a strong wind blew back his cloak. A woman gave an angry protest as it whipped her in the face. Walking around him with a hard look, she ignored Zidane's apology – heading to the airship's railing.

Standing to the side now, Zidane watched people shift back and forth between the two levels. His eyes strayed to the quiet and still attendants as they eyed the passengers carefully. The air was too thick with mist to see anything, but distant airships working engines could be heard.

Waiting a minute before moving to the railing out from the protection of the airship's roof, Zidane squinted his eyes to the harsh wind and steady rainfall. Resting his hands on the frost covered, slippery railing, he gazed out at the vague glimpses of landscape.

Kuja's words came back to him: _'__I wasn't trying to restore the mist, because it has no real purpose anymore, at least not to me at the time, or even now.' _

Then why was it back? What was its significance, and who wanted to use it? Garland was already dead when the mist arrived again – thicker then ever before. The monster creating it in Lifa Tree was killed. So what happened?

Zidane's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when his mind drifted back to the old man and the words that weren't his own. The man's reaction mystified him. What had he meant? Why had he said those things? Heart fluttering in his throat, Zidane tried to push his worries down. For now, he would focus on speaking with Regent Cid. However, a dread lifted in him as the rain's pounding increased, and he was forced to let go of the safety of the railing's icy grip.

* * *

-

**_Themed Song: _**"Blue on Black" by Kenny Wayne Shepard


	10. No Bell to Toll for a Noble Rat's Greed

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE**_

This chapter is longer then the last, and the plot of what's happening with the other Final Fantasy IX characters starts to be revealed. Enjoy the twists in this one. ;) _- Ammom_

* * *

The trip to Lindblum had been a loud but uneventful one. The small cruiser airship to Gizmaluke's Grotto housed only Zidane and the pilot. For this, the man was thankful. The quiet was welcomed greatly, and the pilot – though disgruntled about having to go out with only one passenger – didn't bother him any.

When they arrived just outside the large, silver and blue steel gates, Zidane felt a wave of expectancy come over him. The last time he was here, the Grotto's ruler, Master Gizmaluke, had been turned into a fearsome monster. Zidane – accompanied by a dragoon Freya, and the Black Mage Vivi – had to join forces to take him down. The rats were long since dead and after some attempts and drastic measures in Cleyra; the last survivors were shipped away. Rumors of their return had drifted throughout the continent, and Zidane was relieved to hear that the reconstruction of their kingdom was moving along nicely.

As the small, blue and silver lined cruised moved away with a whirl of propellers and a puff of exhausted mist; Zidane strode up to the gates. A pair of soldiers stood on either side of them the doublewide, thirty-foot doors, staring at the rolls of valley spreading out of sight. A few rat workers stood or knelt beside crates – unpacking supplies and tools.

The rats of the Burmecia Kingdom were generally taller then humans. Their distinguished features were unsettling at first, but kind and admirable upon second glance. Their long noses and attentive eyes gave an impression of deeper understanding, and their lean figures were results of their favor of dance. Burmecian rats' skin was genetically blue. Those who parted for Cleyra, exposed to the sun from atop the world's second largest tree, had softened it to a milky white.

The sight of both skin types brought a small peace in Zidane's heart. Cleyra and Burmecia had remained distant up until the kingdom was attacked by Queen Brahne. Then the Burmecians had fled to their cousins, who had welcomed them with open but hesitant arms.

Striding up to the Burmecian guards, Zidane offered them a small smile. Face straight, one of the guards firmed his grip on his spear, prompting, "What business do you have in the Burmecia Kingdom?"

"I heard that the Regent Cid was here. I'm here to speak with him." Rummaging in his shirt, he gave a glimpse of the Falcon Claw pendant to the soldier. The rat stiffened noticeably, and speaking quietly with the other guards, nodded and turned back to the visitor.

"Very well. He is speaking with Master Gizmaluke."

The soldier didn't elaborate at Zidane's puzzled look, but instead gave the signal for the doors to open. As they creaked inwards, the man strode through, looking at the guards, but their attention had returned to the land lying before them.

The shelter from the rain was a relief. Zidane stood in the hallway, water dripping from him onto the deep, mauve rug. Waiting a minute, taking off his soak cloak and wrapping it around his arm, he followed the rug down into a small room. To the right there was a hallway leading to a cavern side that was being chipped away at to make another room. A couple of workers stood, expanding Gizmaluke's Grotto. The sounds of their tools made Zidane's heart flutter with an inkling of hope.

Redirecting his attention to the door standing before him, Zidane lifted his gaze to the empty incline above it. Gizmaluke's Grotto was once guarded with bells. Small bells were used to resound and move the bells over the doorways. The tolling would trigger a magical mechanism that would open the door, and destroy the handheld bell. By the empty socket in the gray, cobblestone wall, Zidane supposed that the method was no longer in use.

Stepping before the doublewide, extravagant doors and pushing lightly on them he was relieved as they easily gave way with a resounding creak. A clutter rose up from the next room, and Zidane strode forward; shocked by the rats and humans gathered alike. Plans, supplies, and tools were being escorted through the rooms, over, and across the bridges. A young, blue-skinned rat stood in the back, dressed elaborately in silks of cerulean, directing the workers while he spoke in conference to a pair of elderly Burmecians.

Startled by the dedication workmanship – awed by how quickly things seemed to be moving along – Zidane made his way across the bridge and to the main gathering of the room. Avoiding hitting into bustling workers, he stood uneasily a few feet away from the director of the work force. The rat paid him no notice, conversing quietly with a middle-aged man now. The youthful, friendly expression on his face said he wasn't the Burmecian king.

As the man stepped aside with a nod, picking up the handles of a cart and moving over a bridge to the right, the smiling rat's gaze fell on Zidane. Caught in the watchful, kind orbs, the man remained where he was as the stranger strode confidently over to him.

Pausing easily as he drew level, the rat noted in a strong, kindly voice, "My, I haven't seen you here before. What's your name, friend?"

Opening his mouth, giving thought to a new name, Zidane announced a bit hesitantly, "Call me Locke." At the rat's sure nod, he shifted the pack on his back uncomfortably before asking, "Are you…Master Gizmaluke?"

Nodding, the rat confided, "I am sure you're confused. I am the late Gizmaluke's son, Veterance." Holding out his four fingered, large hand to him, he added, "It is a pleasure Locke." As Zidane grasped and shook it, he continued in a booming voice, "And welcome to Burmecia's reconstruction!"

Unable to help himself the man gave a small smile, letting the rat's hand go. "Actually," Zidane began, picking his words carefully. "I have come to speak with Regent Cid. I heard he was helping with the work, and was hoping to catch him here."

"Ahh," Veterance responded, giving him a knowing look that made Zidane wonder if he had looked right through him. Resting a hand lightly on Zidane's back, Veterance turned him towards the nearest doorway, saying, "Well, allow me to accompany you in finding him."

Releasing his hand from Zidane's back, he strode a couple steps forward – heading for the door in the back. The man felt strange being caught up in the mix of the work, but quickly followed. He half expected Veterance to be disappointed that he wasn't here to help, but the rat leader appeared intelligent and easy-going. Zidane felt relaxed around him, but guilty for giving a false name. There was something about Veterance he couldn't quite place – something almost fake.

Leading him into the back towards where the battle with Master Gizmaluke had taken place, Veterance paused and turned towards him. Standing on the cobblestone path leading to the doors and the exit, he gestured his arms to either side of the high-ceiling room. Water poured from the pipes on either wall and into the pools surrounding the walkway. The room was empty, and Zidane suddenly felt unnerved – standing there alone with the late Gizmaluke's son.

Did he know that his father had died because he was a fiend? That he had in reality, died before that? With chaos erupting across the continent, time for explanations was brief. Zidane hadn't known much about Master Gizmaluke except that he constructed the bell toll device that protected the Burmecia Kingdom's main forces. Where had Veterance been during all of this? Zidane hadn't come across him in neither Burmecia nor Cleyra.

"Isn't this place magnificent!" Veterance exclaimed, a wide smile on his features. Feeling uneasy suddenly, Zidane firmed his hold on a dagger at his side – the cloak hiding his arm.

"Yeah, it is…" He gave the rat a skeptical look, eyes darting to the doublewide doors lying closed behind him. If Veterance noticed Zidane's sketchiness, he paid it no mind.

Lifting his head to stare at the distant ceiling, Veterance informed his guest, "My father, Master Gizmaluke built this place with his own hands, and just a few helpers. The king didn't believe it necessary, and so didn't beckon my father for his forces when Burmecia was attacked." Lowering his arms, the smile slipped from the rat's face as he said in a firm, hardly controlled voice, "And neither didn't he send any forces to save them or my father…" He paused as his voice took on a hardness, saying, "Locke, do you understand what—"

However, the rat was cut off suddenly as the doors in the back slammed open. Dropping his head and turning quickly to see the red-draped figure in the back, the smile was restored on Veterance's face. Zidane moved his hand slickly away from his side, relaxing at the sight of Regent Cid.

Striding confidently towards Veterance, walk smooth and ghostly white hair and large, bushy mustache standoffish against his vibrant clothing, the regent greeted in a loud voice, "Veterance, _there_ you are!"

Paying no mind to the third person in the room, the regent rested a hand firmly on the rat's shoulder, looking at him levelly.

Veterance rested his right hand over the regent's, saying with a welcoming smile, "Cid, it is nice for you to come. I was just about to seek you out." Turning towards Zidane, he gestured towards his guest casually, adding, "This man, Locke, was looking to speak with you."

Regent Cid played with one side of his mustache, stroking it as he lifted an eyebrow at Zidane. The man felt judged under the regent's eyes, and he knew Cid recognized him despite his changed appearance. Genomes generally didn't come to the main continent, nor change their appearance for that matter. "I see," the regent muttered distractedly. Then, as if snapping to attention, he turned to the waiting rat, saying, "Very well then, I shall take Locke from here."

As Veterance opened his mouth, the regent moved past him towards the double doors without another word. After a moment, Zidane hurried over, widening the distance between him and Veterance as he passed. Meeting the rat's gleaming eyes for a moment, Zidane quickly fell into place behind Regent Cid.

The doublewide doors led them outside beneath the coverage of Gizmaluke Grotto's back entrance. A cruiser lay in waiting before them, the pilot looking at the regent expectantly. However, Cid remained where he was with one hand still stroking his mustache.

A few moments passed in silence before he prompted in a level voice, "Locke, aye?" Zidane looked away at this, unsure of how to explain his situation. Nodding, the aging man noted, "I can see how you might not want Master Gizmaluke's son knowing who you are…"

Looking at the man levelly, Zidane noted, "There is something very strange and wrong about Veterance."

Turning to Zidane with a deep incline of his head, Regent Cid agreed, "Yes, as I have noticed as well. There is a deep, inner greed shining in his eyes. Smells like a dirty rat to me."

"He shouldn't be running the reconstruction…"

Shaking his head, Cid confided, "He's not. He's just a tool, Zidane. Now, come. Let's ride to Burmecia, and you can fill me in on what's happening here…"

-

* * *

-

The trip to Burmecia was short, but somehow Zidane ran out of things to say. He didn't feel comfortable in telling Cid everything that had happened, but had instead informed him of the important facts. The regent remained quiet the entire ride, though he did give Zidane a surprised look at the mention of Rennet.

When Zidane had finished speaking, they sat in silence in the back of the small cruiser as Burmecia drew closer through the parting mist. After a couple of uncomfortable, quiet minutes, Cid looked over at Zidane, saying, "So Rennet is doing well then?"

All Zidane could do was a give a slow, numb nod. He was hoping that Cid would give him the answers he needed – that he would take the crystal pieces and tell him his job was done. However, Cid did neither and instead drifted off into deep thought again.

The cruiser was slowing down when the aging man turned to address his companion again. "So, the sorceresses are following the crystal pieces' power? Any idea who lies behind them?"

Zidane shook his head slowly at this. "I don't know who released the mist again, but they can be sealed up if we find the four people with the second crystal pieces in them."

The regent slowly nodded his head. They both knew this was a very difficult task, and time was a pressing matter. Would the crystal holders even know they had them? How would they find them?

Cid eyed the three crystal pieces on the seat between them, and Zidane could see something working in the man's eyes. At last, the regent picked up the Falcon Claw slowly, examining it as he told Zidane, "Perhaps the crystals react to one another. If so, then your search will be easier."

Zidane felt his hopes drop at this statement. Despite his need to help the people of Mist Continent, he was waiting for Regent Cid to tell him he could give the burden away. He supposed that Cid had enough matters to deal with as it was. Lindblum was _just _rebuilt. Zidane was sure the regent didn't wish his people's hopes crushed by another expected attack. Regent Cid must have already felt guilty about giving in to the attack by Queen Brahne. Knowing that the queen was dangerous, he withdrew his forces that had formed a barrier between him and Alexandria, and directed them towards the lost cause of Burmecia.

No one ever said anything, but Zidane could tell by the pain in Cid's eyes every time someone mentioned the war that it still bothered him. Zidane didn't want to put the Regent – or Lindblum for that matter – through that scenario again.

_I'll take care of it then_, the man told himself, looking down at the remainin crystal pieces with a grimace. _Even if it means I never return home._

As the cruiser pulled up to Burmecia's entrance, it slowed considerably as it pulled down the cobblestone street. Zidane peered out the fogged window as the indistinguishable figures passing and working. The rain continued to pelt down here. Burmecia was known better as the 'Rain City' for its constant weather condition. Now, it was no different from any other kingdom.

After a couple of minutes, the cruiser came to a stop outside a large building in the back of a newly constructed alleyway. As the doors parted with a gasp of exhaustion, Zidane gathered his things and quickly ducked into the billowing raindrops. The door shut quickly behind him and the cruiser lifted a foot in the air. Turning smoothly, it rose higher and then lowered as it soared easily down the street.

Regent Cid called to his companion, gesturing him towards the three-story building. Suddenly remembering himself, Zidane hurried after him and to the threshold. Plowing their way through as the unlocked door opened, the pair stood soaked – faces flushed as warmth spread into their numbs limbs. A fire blazed in the hearth against the right wall, and faces turned from around large, cushioned armchairs to peer at them in interest.

Once they took off their cloaks, the regent led Zidane through the common room and past the clerk's desk up the stairs. Zidane felt at home in the warm, dimmed inn. It was relaxing, with a smell of lavender incense burning in a corner of each room. The aroma lulled his head, and the youth was reminded of just how tired he was. He'd spent most of the day getting to Burmecia, and though it was still rather early, he was ready for bed.

Cid must have realized this too – or shared this feeling – because he led Zidane up onto the third floor and into his own, large, private suite. Striding towards a bookshelf, and browsing very quickly, the regent pulled down a thick volume with a small rise of dust. Turning to Zidane now, he came back with it open in one hand, the other favoring his mustache again.

Letting his pack and cloak drop to the floor beside him, the youth stood waiting patiently as the aging man browsed the pages. At last, Cid came to a pause on one page, and turned the book towards him, saying, "There."

A sketched image of a jester-clad woman and black wings paring off to a back that faded at the page's cover was displayed under large words, reading, '_the Sorceresses' Conviction'. _Zidane stared at the image and title a moment longer until Cid redirected the book towards himself.

"What is it?"

"_This_," the regent began, slowing making his way over to another bookshelf while still staring at the page. "This…is about the sorceresses' sentencing. They were sealed away because their power couldn't be controlled. They were a threat – a menace – to everyone around them."

Thinking for a moment, Zidane noted, "Ferias said that there was one sorceress in the future that was killed…but the group sent through the time compression…"

Nodding, Cid cut him off with a wave of his hand, saying, "I know all about it." Turning to Zidane now, raising his gaze to meet the youth's, he continued, "They were foolish – children all."

Eying the man unsurely, Zidane started again, more slowly, "And the sorceress with them, they…"

Shaking his head with a tired sigh, rubbing his temples with one hand, Cid muttered, "They allowed her freedom." At Zidane's skeptical look, he snapped the book shut, adding, "I can understand. I think it cruel to seal up someone for something they can't control, but it has left us with problems ever since. The world nearly fell into total devastation."

Grimacing, Zidane gave a slow nod of his head. What sort of technology were they missing out on? He couldn't imagine going into space for years. What lay out there? He eyed the ceiling, as if he could see the stars shining down on him through it.

The world had fallen into destruction because of one person. Zidane was reminded of Kuja, and a shiver ran through him. If Cid noticed this, he didn't acknowledge it. Instead, the man returned his attention to the gathered books in the room, carefully stepping around wooden tables and chairs.

Shifting on his feet, Zidane ran a hand over his weary features. It had been a long day, and talk of others' impudence wasn't catching his attention enough to keep him awake. Cid, realizing that his companion had had a long day, called back without looking at him, "Take the room to the right. Get a good rest, and we'll speak more tomorrow."

Nodding his head gratefully, Zidane picked up his pack and cloak. Heading towards the sycamore door standing shut beside a wall painting of Cid VIII, he rested his hand on the knob – pausing as a thought came to mind.

Without turning to the man, the youth asked hesitantly, "Is…Eiko here?"

At this, the regent looked at Zidane's back as if he could see through the youth's head and into his thoughts. However, Cid told him in a casual tone, "No, she is back in Lindblum with Hilda."

After a moment, Zidane just nodded before opening the door and striding through – leaving behind the Falcon Claw, and a piece of his worries.

-

* * *

-

Maybe if it didn't seem like the world was crashing down on them, then the sight of Burmecia's reconstruction would have been a happy one. However, as long as the crystal pieces lay in someone's hands, then the world's people were in danger, and it was the world's people who were blind to what was really happening around them.

Striding easily down the Burmecian main street, thick, red cloak hanging heavy on her thin limbs, a single rat woman didn't join in with the hopes of her fellow citizens. There was something almost false about Regent Cid's proclamation of reconstruction. In his eyes, hope had long since dwindled and died.

Master Gizmaluke's son – who had once seemed proud, strong, and wise – showed a greed and need for control and power that wasn't there before. Veterance was presumed dead when he took out a party of dragoons several years before. The warrior mysteriously returned unharmed – alone.

Despite the aroused suspicions, the Burmecians welcomed him back gratefully, and he was set to work in the lead construction of their kingdom's forefront. Regent Cid discarded her notations, but Freya could tell that the man had his own worries and conceptions of the rat leader's son.

A few of the workers greeted the infamous dragoon as she passed, and Freya nodded her head in turn, but remained quiet. Caught in her thoughts of Veterance, she didn't notice the tall, lean figure of a male rat approaching her until she was forced to stop. Thoughts of the mysterious Veterance fled her mind, and heart pumping in her long, delicate ears, a smile spread across Freya's ghostly features.

The male rat before her – dressed in neat and noble clothing of light browns and whites – returned the smile, greeting in a homely voice, "Freya my sweet, _there _you are."

It felt nice to hear him say that, but there was still that reminder that Fratley didn't remember their past together. An accident had struck him with no memory, and at the mercy of the world's cruelty. It was only thanks to the Burmecian prince Puck, that Freya was reunited with her lost love. For five years, everyone thought him dead. Freya had felt sure he was alive, but when she discovered he didn't know who she was…

Shaking her head to clear it of the depressing thoughts, the rat reminded herself, _That's in the past. We have a new future together. _

It was this sole notion that she continuously repeated to herself that kept Freya from yelling at her love. Though no one could have seen Fratley losing his memory, she had warned, asked, and even _begged_him not leave. He promised he would return, and when he did, Freya had had to make him fall in love with her all over again. It was a troublesome situation, and sometimes it still felt like he was just with her because he didn't know what else to do.

Pushing away the dark thoughts, Freya redirected her attention to Fratley, who was droning on about some task that wasn't completed yet. When it was clear that Freya hadn't been listening, he gave her a worried look, saying, "Is everything all right?"

Nodding, the woman responded, "Yes, it's fine. I was only thinking." Pausing as she chose her words, Freya added, "Where is the regent? I wish to speak with him."

Gesturing down a side street, Fratley replied, "Sleeping in from what I hear." Turning back to her, he asked simply, "Why, what's the matter?"

Feeling a little irritated, Freya told him sharply, "Nothing." At the startled look Fratley gave her, the woman sighed, adding more patiently, "Forgive me love, but I've been worried about the regent's attitude towards all of this."

Nodding in understanding, Fratley stepped forward. Placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, the man told her, "Please Freya, relax some. The reconstruction is underway, and soon Burmecia will rise again in strength and pride."

Despite her lover's encouraging words, Freya still felt on edge. The air brimmed with untold events to come. Something lay just beyond the horizon, and it was approaching fast – she could feel it trembling beneath her skin and rattling against her bones.

Pushing the feeling away, Freya just nodded slowly at Fratley's words. Resting her left hand on his arm, she told him, "I'll return once I have spoken with Regent Cid, and help with the refinement of the South Wall." At the expectant look the man gave her, Freya prompted hesitantly, "The…North Wall?" Still Fratley kept the same look, and sighing and dropping her arm, Freya stepped back, admitting, "All right, so I didn't hear what you said."

Shaking his head with a small, amused smile, he told her, "The honing of the king's throne is what I asked of your assistance."

Freya gave him a baffled look at this, proclaiming, "I don't have crafter's hands."

"That is not what I meant," Fratley informed her. Stepping forward and resting her chin in his hand, he added, "You should have listened, my dear." At Freya's impatient expression, he rested the same fingers that were under her chin against his mouth in thought. Turning, the warrior told her, "We wished to embed the story of Burmecia's fall and rise again in the chair." Looking to her now, Fratley finished, "And who better to help with that then someone who experienced both?"

Heart lightening by this news, Freya could hardly keep her voice under control as she prompted, "Whose idea was this?"

"The king's." At Freya's raised eyebrows, Fratley corrected, "Mine, but the king thought it a wonderful notion."

Smiling at him, and nodding, Freya said gently, "Thank you," before kissing him on the cheek. Without turning back, she headed down the small cranny leading to the inn. Fratley watched her go, a knowing smile spread across his soft-furred features.

-

* * *

-

The sight of the working rats made an easy smirk spread across Veterance's face. He let his gaze linger over the heads of human and rodent alike. The sight was welcomed by his guard escort, but a malice flashed behind Veterance's eyes. Man destroyed their home with their useless wars – how could they be so easily forgiven?

They weren't.

Paying his escort no mind, Veterance's gaze strayed and locked on a familiar figure. He squinted his eyes as he watched a female dragoon in red walk away, leaving Sir Fratley to gaze after her. Veterance found it sickening the way he abided by her word like a lost and needy puppy.

Shaking his head, letting his expression ease as Fratley's eyes locked on his, the rat leader strode forward confidently. The dragoon stepped towards him, bowing for a few moments before straightening. Fratley's friendly smile betrayed a deeper instinct behind his eyes.

"Master Veterance, what a surprise."

Nodding to his guards, dismissing them, the rat leader redirected his attention to the warrior before him again. "Come, walk with me," he suggested, gesturing towards the street.

Recognizing it as more of a command than a request, Fratley just nodded and stepped in pace with the rat leader. An awareness picked up as they walked towards a newly made area, and not a word was exchanged. Fratley kept his eyes on Veterance, but he other man remained calm and sure of himself.

The enclosed, circular area serving as a park with homes lining it was almost empty. The few workers coming in and out of the area paid the two no mind as they drifted off to a secluded corner. Pausing beside some lopsided, unopened and stacked crates, Veterance turned to his companion now.

"How go the preparations for the king's coronation?"

Nodding his head, keeping his voice low and serious, Fratley reported a bit grimly, "Well…the re-crowning of His Majesty will bring satisfaction to Burmecia's people."

Giving a satisfied nod, Veterance stroked his chin in thought. After a minute, he lowered his arm. "And what of the following plans?"

Tensing at these words, spoke so simple and straightforward, Fratley fought the urge to shift. Keeping his eyes locked with Veterance, he said, "They too…are…in place." Unable to hold the gaze, Fratley instead stared off at the stack of crates behind the noble Burmecian.

Expression hardening, seeing the hesitance rising up in the warrior, Veterance suddenly struck out – catching Fratley's chin hard. Making the subordinate look at him, the rat lord hissed, "_Don't_ back out now. That vermin has been on his high horse too long. It's time he was knocked down."

When Fratley didn't respond, Veterance let him go. Resting a hand to his aching jaw, the dragoon watched the rat storm off with a scoff. A sense of loss rose in Fratley, but pushing it down, he quickly followed.

-

* * *

-

The day brought no change in weather or mood. Though he felt thoroughly better, Zidane's hopes hadn't been restored any. He still awoke with the same feeling of loss that he'd gone to sleep with. Rubbing at the Memory Earring – clearing it of the built up dust, he packed it away gently in a pouch at his side with the Sand Ruby.

Rising to his feet, stretching with a light groan, Zidane opened the door – peering out hesitantly. The main room was quiet and still with no sign of the regent. Was he still sleeping?

Opening the door fully, Zidane leaned out and checked the cuckoo clock as it rang out noon. Blinking in surprise and stepping out of the room, Zidane turned his gaze to the open books lying on the tables, chairs, and floor. The scene explained it.

Deciding to let Cid sleep, the youth made his way for the door. Creeping out into the hallway – feeling nervous about being in Burmecia, he gazed either way along the corridor. There wasn't even a sign of a maid. Pictures and vases lay where they were knocked over the previous night in the workers' anxiety. What was going on?

Heading for the stairs and down two floors, he passed no one along the way. Thinking to ask the clerk at the desk, he was amazed to find that he the innkeeper was gone as well. No fire blazed in the hearth, and the comfortably looking, cushioned chairs sat empty.

Forgetting his cloak and abandoning thoughts of it, Zidane headed out into the early afternoon air. The weather remained the same. Crates, supplies, and bricks had been laid down before their tasks. The street spread out ahead, and the youth could catch glimpses of moving fabric. What would make all the workers abandon their posts?

Heading down the street at a hurried pace, Zidane began to catch up on some workers and followed them towards the fountain in the center of the city. There the man slowed, tail stiffening at the sight of the gathered humans and rats alike. The crowd blocked his view, and moving around to the other side, Zidane managed to step between a pair of muttering women.

Stopping abruptly, Zidane watched as the Burmecian king lay a blanket over the half crushed face of a rat. Recognizing the fabulous clothing, Zidane's breath caught in his throat. Puck, the brown furred rat prince, stood to one side with tail and shoulders drooped. A faint glimpse of moving red made Zidane raise his gaze – and without a moment's hesitation – ducked back behind the last row of bystanders.

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Zidane turned to meet the regent's gaze. After a moment, he gestured him over. Hesitating momentarily, tucking his tail around him, Zidane made his way slowly towards the patiently waiting man. Without a word, Regent Cid led the youth up the stairs leading to the Burmecian Palace.

Drawing Zidane into a side building connected to the palace where a statue of an honored god was displayed in the back, Regent Cid turned to him. Before Zidane could do more than open his mouth, the man had clasped his shoulders in a firm grip.

Crouching to look Zidane straight in the eye, the man told him in a hurried, serious tone, "Listen to me, Zidane. I fear the king is in trouble."

Blinking in surprise at this sudden notion, the youth prompted unsurely, "How so?"

"The rat lying there in the street is _not _Master Gizmaluke's heir."

Giving the man a confused look, Zidane asked in a quiet, level tone, "Then where _is _Veterance?"

Shaking his head, letting his companion go, Regent Cid admitted grimly, "I don't know, but he's not here. I have a source that says they saw him speaking with a worker and handing over some very delicate clothing."

Nodding slowly, Zidane asked as the regent began pacing in the narrow, short hall, "Why would he fake his own death?"

"I don't know," Cid replied humbly, pruning his mustache anxiously. Stopping in mid-step, he turned to his companion, saying, "But keep an eye out. Will you be heading out soon?"

Grimacing, Zidane nodded slowly. "I have to find the four crystal holders." Crossing his arms, bowing his head in thought, he added quietly, "I just don't know where to look…"

Giving thought to this, the aging man noted, "You did mention that the sorceresses follow the crystal. Where's the fourth piece?"

Shaking his head, the youth confessed, "I don't know. It wasn't with Kuja. I thought that it might be with Garnet, but…"

At this, Cid gave a nod of his head and held up his hand. "Yes, I understand your situation." Looking thoughtful, he added after a minute, "Then _I _shall retrieve the crystal from her Highness."

Giving the man a quizzical look, Zidane asked curiously, "How?"

Smirking a little at this, Cid noted mischievously, "I know these actors, you see…"

* * *

-

**_Themed Song: _**"Strangers Like Me" by Phill Collins


	11. Caged Ambitions for the Preserved

The sweet fragrant smells of roasting chicken and stuffing drifted up to the roof beams where two men crouched. Quivering where he sat, a pig-faced, short and stout thief soaked up the sweet smells – mouth open and watering now. Beside him, a long-toothed, squinty-eyed man gave a contempt sigh. Crouching there, he redirected his attention to the patrolling guards below them in the foyer. Firelight cast eerie shadows across the black and white tiles.

A soldier in newly polished, steel armor paused – staring down at one mysterious shadow. Heart pumping, Marcus suddenly dragged his drooling companion back, covering his startled cry with a hand. The Pluto Knight gazed up at the roof beams with a suspicious look, but a fellow guard caught his attention.

Striding forward, the second young man prompted, "Biggs, what's the matter?"

Looking thoroughly baffled and unsure of himself, Biggs just shook his head, saying, "I-I thought I saw someone."

Casting his gaze around, the second knight noted, "It's the castle. You're sure to see _someone_." Before Biggs could open his mouth to protest this statement, the knight was already returning to his patrolling, calling back, "Now get back to your duties, and stop being so paranoid."

After another glance back up, the Pluto Knight shook his head and did what he was told. Peering out into the foyer, Marcus slowly released his grip on the struggling thief.

Pushing his companion's arms away, the disgruntled man hissed softly, "Watch those hands, we almost went over."

Clearly distracted and not listening, Marcus muttered, "Yeah, right. If you say so, Cinna." The other man gave a sniff at this, and continued to mutter incoherently to himself.

Darting quietly from one roof beam to the next, a fiery-redhead paused behind the pair. Resting his hands on their shoulders and leaning in closer, Blank said quietly, "How's it going?"

Ignoring Cinna's startled jump and starts of protest, Marcus turned to the newly arrived companion, saying, "They still haven't changed shifts yet, Bro."

Nodding, Blank told Marcus, "That's our only chance, so make it count."

Marcus beat his fist against his chest as the Tantalus trademark sign. Blank returned the motion – ignoring Cinna as he failed to do it in his awkward sitting position. The roof beam wasn't wide enough to fit the three of them comfortably.

"I'm not so sure about this," Cinna admitted nervously, hands twisting in his lap. "_Should _we be doing this?"

As Blank rolled his eyes, Marcus turned to the uneasy thief, saying, "The regent asked us to. He said it's all for the better good."

"But stealing from the _princess_," Cinna exclaimed, quickly cutting off at Blank's hush. Swallowing, Cinna hissed, "We shouldn't be doing this…"

Raising an eyebrow at him, Blank turned to Cinna, saying, "You still have that doll, don't you?" Licking his lips, the thief avoided their eyes. Scoffing, Blank turned back to Marcus, saying, "I'm going on ahead to see if I can find a better spot to drop down in."

At his companion's nod, they beat their chests again before Blank scurried off quietly. Marcus watched his Bro head further down, and then leap up onto the next beam out of view without a sound.

Looking to his companion, Cinna asked in a quiet, urgent voice, "What about you Marcus? What do _you _think of this?"

Shrugging, Marcus told him, "I just follow orders." Glancing back down at the foyer with a nod, he added, "Good, they're changing. Let's go."

Before Cinna could protest, Marcus had already pushed off the roof beam. Soaring down the twenty-five feet or so, he landed expertly on his feet. Straightening slowly, letting his shaking limbs still, Marcus glanced back as Cinna came down in a heap – rolling from his side onto his stomach and getting to his feet clumsily.

Gesturing him towards the wide, red-carpeted staircase leading to the next level – one index finger to his mouth – Marcus took up a quiet, cautious step. Cinna, recovering from his sudden leap, followed at a scurried pace that made his companion send him a warning glare. Slowing to an almost stop at the bottom of the staircase, Cinna stood, shaking noticeably.

Ignoring his fellow thief's reaction to the situation, Marcus climbed the steps carefully – peering around the side cautiously. Heart pumping in his ears, the man didn't want to think about trying to explain to the queen why they were sneaking around were caught. Pushing worrisome thoughts aside, he gestured behind him for Cinna to follow.

In one swift movement, Marcus was up the stairs and around the side. Glimpsing a flash of metal against the dancing torchlight, he crouched quickly. Colliding into Marcus' back, Cinna had to bite on his jutting bottom lip to stop from crying out.

The distinct sound of cleats against the soft fabric of the hallway carpet made Marcus shift uneasily. They could head back and out the doors – escaping through the courtyard. However, Regent Cid had made is distinctly clear that their mission at hand was to be completed. The details weren't passed along from Baku to his men. All the Tantalus crew needed to know was that there were great rewards involved, and it would benefit Alexandria. The regent had Marcus at 'great rewards'.

The life of a thief was growing drastically dull ever since the Tantalus got involved with helping to secure the world's safety. Though Marcus wasn't overly fond of the extra work with no personal benefits, he knew that Blank was even more disgruntled about it. Bro personally blamed Zidane for it. If it weren't for their ex-Tantalus member chasing the princess' skirt, they wouldn't have gotten involved in the world's affairs at all.

Marcus didn't hold a grudge to Zidane – knowing that what they did was for the best. Even if they had grown distant before Zidane's death, he held his deceased friend's actions in the highest regard.

_For you my friend_, Marcus vowed quietly. _For all the good times you will be missing out on…_

He ducked down suddenly as a soldier passed by distractedly. Marcus thanked the late hour and the obvious lull to the Pluto Knight's stride. As the man passed by carelessly, Marcus moved swiftly around the side – and remaining low to the ground – headed down the hallway.

Heart pumping in his ears, the thief didn't pay any mind to the hallway he passed and the open door to the kitchens, nor to his scuffling companion behind him. All Marcus knew was that Zidane wasn't around to protect Dagger anymore. He felt that _someone _had to be looking out for her.

Pushing these thoughts away for now, he dove into the cranny beneath the stairs leading up to the royal chambers. As Cinna stumbled past, Marcus reached out a hand, and clasping his clumsy companion by the shoulder, pulled him back into the shadows. Plopping the man down with a serious, warning look, Marcus squinted into the dimly lit hallways. A pair of guards strode towards one another, pausing in discussion. The exchange of nods and hushed words perked Marcus' interest, but from where he crouched, no words could be made out.

Silently cursing – reminding himself to clean out his ears – the thief gestured to Cinna to wait where he was. It was already amazing they weren't caught yet with how much noise the plump man made. It made Marcus wonder why Cinna wasn't kicked out of the Tantalus group yet.

_I guess Baku needs _someone _to fall back on and blame_.

On soft steps, Marcus rounded up to the banister, and eyeing the hallway for the guards, nearly tripped over himself. He was almost at the top when the sound of opening doors made him turn quickly. Staying pressed against the banister, Marcus' heart pumped in his throat at the sound of approaching footsteps.

Feeling antsy where he was, Cinna shifted uncomfortably. Catching a glimpse of armor, the thief glanced towards the staircase anxiously. Was the sound of opening doors Marcus, or someone coming out? If Marcus was still on the stairs, the guards would seem him for sure.

Without another moment's thought, Cinna leapt out in the hallway. Staying where he was, the thief stood on trembling legs as the Pluto Knight hurried towards him, shouting out, "Hey, you there!"

Waiting another moment, Cinna turned sharply to run – colliding with the other guard. Having forgotten about the second knight, the thief didn't hesitate before running around him and down the hallway on stumbling, duck feet.

At the shouts, Marcus' fear increased. Glancing back, expecting to see the guards coming at him, he was surprised when they ran right past the staircase. Confused, the thief redirected his attention to the moving footsteps overhead again. From where he crouched, he caught a glimpse of a pair of gloved hands on the crossway railing and a glimmer of firelight against metal.

Marcus then knew who it was, and knowing he would receive ultimate punishment were he caught – remained as small as he could. Trying to calm his shaking body, the thief shut his eyes in an attempt to block out disturbing images.

From atop the banister, a woman clad in leisure, white clothing complete with cleats and a sword at her side, stood staring out distractedly across the hallway. She watched a pair of incapable guards running through the foyer after a target she couldn't see. It was probably just another kitchen servant.

Shaking her head, the general of the Alexandrian forces Beatrix, returned to vague thoughts of the outside world. Alexandria had once stood as a proud and noble kingdom, but with such a young and ignorant woman on the throne, it didn't shine with its former glory. Even if Queen Brahne's ambitions were distasteful at the end of her rule, she knew how to go about retrieving her goals. Garnet had none in mind other then to rebuild Alexandria. But what then? Her people wouldn't wait forever in silence for her to build up their kingdom again.

Shaking her head with a deep sigh, the woman turned her back on the hallway. She was nearing her forties now, and still she felt like there were parts of her life that were wasting away. Up until a few months ago, she was perfectly content with how things were going. She was the general of a conquering and growing kingdom under an ambitious and strong woman, and there were no conflicting feelings in her heart.

"Now there's you Steiner," she whispered quietly to herself.

Shaking her head to clear it of the thoughts of the rambunctious and proud man, Beatrix gazed back to the open, doublewide, white doors. Beyond them, Garnet lay in waiting for her general's grasp on Regent Cid's warnings. Despite that the regent was a wise man who had reasons for his actions – even if they were unknown – Garnet had refused his request to give up the Silver Pendant. It was Garnet's only real reminder of her mother and what led to her journey into her life.

In a way, the general could understand the queen's reluctance to give up her heritage. If she was told to give up her prized curved and bloodstained sword – Save the Queen – Beatrix would refuse as well.

Shaking her head and deciding it best to head back, Beatrix strode hesitantly through the doors, closing them behind her. The sound of the firm clasp made Marcus relax. However, now he was in a delicate situation. He didn't know what lay beyond those doors other then Alexandria's general – one of the best warriors throughout the land.

Sighing, seeing the mission as a lost cause, Marcus rose stiffly to his feet when a voice suddenly called out his name.

Turning, the thief watched as Blank ran towards him from a side room leading to the soldiers' barracks. Relieved at the sight of his Bro, Marcus hurried down the steps to meet him in the hallway, saying as he drew level, "It's no good. The general's with Dagger." At the wince Blank made, Marcus nodded, adding grimly, "Yeah, tell me about it. I'm not about to rock that boat either."

Crossing his arms in thought, Blank muttered, "And Dagger doesn't take that necklace off ever…"

Shaking his head slowly, Marcus prompted, "What was the regent _thinking_? This is impossible. He must really want that pendant."

Straightening with a nod, Blank said distractedly, "Yeah, maybe…"

Turning to gaze down the hall, the man drifted off into thought. Narrowing his brow to stare at his Bro in puzzlement, Marcus said slowly, "Blank…is everything—"

Looking back to his companion, Blank interrupted, "All right, grab Cinna. We'll regroup and think of a new plan."

Before Marcus could do more then open his mouth, Blank had already given the Tantalus salute, and was off down the hall towards the stairs that would bring him outside. For a minute, Marcus just stood there, staring after him. Blank had been acting strange for a few days now, and he couldn't quite place the distant look that had entered his Bro's eyes. There was a sense of lost within them.

-

* * *

-

Pacing slowly around her room, paying no mind to the drapes of her bed drifting lightly from the breeze coming through the open window, Alexandria's young queen was caught in thought of Zidane again. Her heart ached at the sight of him walking away repeatedly in her mind. All she could see was that lone figure heading towards certain doom, and Garnet could feel tears welling to her eyes again.

Sitting down in a chair near the window in defeat, Garnet ducked her head into her hands. Trembling as silent sobs racked her body, she looked up suddenly at the light knock on her door. Quickly wiping away the tears – knowing that it wasn't very becoming of a queen to be caught crying – she called out in a cracked, struggling voice, "C-Come in."

Opening the door hesitantly, afraid of intruding on anything, Beatrix stepped in. Seeing the redness that had entered her queen's face, the general gave an elegant bow – holding it so Garnet had time to clear up her emotions. A clearing of her throat allowed Beatrix to straighten and peer at Garnet with one eye.

The young woman was standing now in her light, flowing nightgown with a sense of pride in her eyes again. Behind the soft orbs though, sadness still lingered. It hadn't left her gaze in months, and Beatrix worried that it was slowly overtaking her queen's rational thought. Of course, Garnet stomped down any notions.

_She's a proud woman_, Beatrix noted. _Proud and impudent._

Keeping these words to herself, Beatrix saluted now, saying in a strong voice, "Your Majesty, regarding the regent's request to—"

Before Beatrix could finish that sentence, Garnet was already shaking her head, snapping, "_No_. This is the only keepsake I have left from my mother." Looking down glumly, Garnet added more softly, "It's Alexandria and my father's crest of strength…"

Beatrix could only nod, remembering the good and happy days when King Alexander was still alive and well. He was the founder of the Alexandrian Kingdom, and a proud fighter. However, he had given up the sword years previous – passing it down to Beatrix. King Alexander passed away almost two years previous at the age of thirty-three from alcohol poisoning. Alexander's whole life went into building Alexandria, which is why the kingdom hadn't expanded out as much as Lindblum.

King Alexander was greatly mourned, and his wife vowed to expand her lover's kingdom for him. She became vengeful and power greedy. That was when Kuja arrived, and things took a steady rise and fall. Garnet herself now still showed more remorse for her kind adoptive father then her mother.

A silence stretched between the pair as these thoughts played out in both women's minds. At last, Beatrix sighed and bowed again, saying, "If that is your wish Your Majesty, then I shall decline the regent's offer to take it from your grasp."

Garnet only nodded slowly, not raising her gaze. The queen was lost in thoughts of the past – when her parents were kind and happy, and still her parents. When she was six, Garnet came to Alexandria on a small boat with her biological mother. Looking _exactly _like the princess that had just passed away, Garnet was taken in as Alexander's daughter. Garnet just discovered the truth a few months back.

Then, raising her head with a solemn expression, the queen told her patient general, "Very well then. Leave me, I'm tired Beatrix."

Nodding and saluting again, Beatrix turned and headed for the door. Pausing at it to meet her queen's eyes, she waited another moment before exiting. As the door closed, with a soft click, Garnet relieved a deep, sorrowed sigh.

Turning her gaze to the darkened sky, a cold breeze billowing back her clasped hair, Garnet closed the panes with a grimace. She paused with her delicate hands on the handle, turned to the side. Once she pulled it downwards, it would lock – keeping in all her thoughts and dreams. Letting her hand go, she watched the window swing open again.

Laying down in the warmth and comfort of her bed, Garnet fell asleep to the sight of the open window. She wasn't ready to cage in her hopes and memories just yet.

-

* * *

-

From where he sat at the Alexandrian docks, Blank could make out each star in the heavens that night. The sky had cleared for him, and he could feel his answers hanging up there. He felt as if he could reach out and pluck a star to hold it in his hand, and that would be the answer. Blank was torn about what to do.

Zidane had showed up in the flesh, but asked him not to say anything to Garnet. The girl he was with had been convinced he was her brother. Blank couldn't remember his early childhood. His first memory was of Baku telling him to follow. So confused and baffled at such a young age, the youth had done as he was bid. When asked his name, he could only answer with, "Blank".

He didn't have a name, and Baku didn't question his answer. Giving it more thought, could it be that Rennet was his sister? Did he _have_a sister? It seemed ridiculous to think of it that way. After all these years with his adoptive brothers, he suddenly had a sister.

_No_, Blank told himself firmly, slamming his fist against a stone statue. Looking down grimly at his feet, he added more softly, _I don't. _

Pushing away these thoughts, Blank got to his feet slowly, hand red and aching beneath the soft, leather glove. Standing there with drifting notions, Blank turned as a familiar, scuffed voice called to him, "There you are, Bro!"

Blank sighed inwardly at the sight of Marcus. He didn't feel like speaking with anyone, but from the grim look on his fellow thief's face, he knew the mission was over. Turning as Marcus drew closer; Blank prompted easily, "We done then?"

Nodding, Marcus then shook his head, saying, "We have to find Cinna."

Giving a contempt sigh, Blank just nodded, "Fine then."

At the sharpness in his Bro's voice, Marcus gave him a skeptical look, asking honestly, "Yo, what's that matter?"

Blank just shook his head, muttering, "It's nothing – just thinking about the past."

Continuing to watch him skeptically, Marcus just nodded unsurely, and heading back towards the waiting doors, called back, "Let's mosey."

Blinking after him, all Blank could do was shake his head. He wasn't ready to return to the real world and closed in thoughts. For a moment, he was content in believing that there was more to him then what everyone saw. Even if they didn't see it now, as long as he himself knew, then it meant more then anything else ever had.

Sitting back down slowly, Blank traced a circle in the water with his index finger. In the ripples, he saw his own reflection, and for the first time, he didn't recognize it.

* * *

-

**_Themed Song: _**"Without Question" by Elton John


	12. Brawling Under Snow's Fall

A man stood on the corner, taking another drag of his cigar as he slowly unbuttoned his raincoat with one hand. People passed without a glance. To the nobles that inhabited and ran the Night City, Treno, he was just another unshaven face. The nippy air made several shudder as a breeze swept past the lone man. Maybe it _wasn't_ that they didn't pay him any mind – but that they didn't see him.

It's difficult to keep an eye on a withering soul. They appear so disconnected and distant from the rest of the world, it's as if they're not there at all. The foggy look in the middle-aged, tall man's eyes continued as he tucked his hands in the front pockets of his open jacket – stepping on the remains of the smoking cigar. Ignoring the cold, and hunching his shoulders with a dejected look, the darkly clad man strode heavily down the street.

Maybe if it had been a warmer day – without the tense thoughts of winter on the way – or maybe if rumors of war hadn't broken out, then someone would have seen him. Maybe someone would have looked beyond normal sight. The breeze whipped back the man's coat; his arms plunged from the warm pockets.

Without a word or sound of protest, the unseen stranger strode down the familiar, old streets. Feet moving through the rubble and trash laying discarded on the cobblestone, he ducked into the brief shelter without a change of expression. The worn hollowness to the man's cheek shown in the vague torchlight, and then it was gone as he stepped into light falling snow.

Children scurried in circles, catching the dainty snowflakes in their mouths – protesting about how they dissipated instantly, and yet, still laughing joyfully. The sight of them didn't bring a flutter to the man's still heart, but a vague glimpse of a little girl passed before his mind's eye. Before his heart could clench to that memory, it was gone.

The wandering man's mind instead drifted towards thoughts of home and a missing lover. He couldn't bring himself to return to her – Rebecca would be just fine without him. Even if it hurt in the beginning, she would come to understand it was for the best.

Rebecca he knew didn't see it that way. She said he always gave in too soon – never gave anything or anyone a real chance. His trust wasn't what it was once. Every time he spoke,a drifted, unreal look entered his eyes – as if he wasn't meaning anything he said.

Now, heading around the bend in the street, paying no mind to the young couple passing him by, the lone man could only think of home. Drawing into the warm lights spraying from the Main Hall's windows, he stopped and stared into the golden-orange aurora – listening to the distant, merry voices. The rise of scuffling and screeching chairs spoke of a card tournament, and the lingering man was vaguely reminded of his own victory days.

_But that was long ago. _

Heading past the tournament and continuing across, the strange man paid no mind to the billowing breeze or the snow as it picked up. Striding towards a tower in a lone crevice of the city, he strode right past the long-nosed, chubby man stopped on the street beside it. Pulling out a cigar, and puffing it for a few minutes, the loner stood, staring at the wooden door leading into the tower.

Taking one last drag, he then buttoned up his coat, and stepped through.

-

* * *

-

The soft glistens shining from the thin layer of snow covering the rooftops was a pleasant and soothing scene. It was the beginning stages of a Winter Wonderland. The few remaining and confused birds, gave out sharp calls that hummed the air with a weary tone.

As the multi-colored birds spread their wings overhead, a single woman stood alone in the street, with eyes raised to the thick-clouded night. The light snowfall sent a shiver through Marietta's spine, and drawing the redlined, white hood of her cloak over her tussled, blonde hair, she hurried into the inn down a side alley.

Welcoming the warmth of the small tavern, Marietta breathed into her cupped hands, rubbing them together. The innkeeper looked up from behind the counter, where he stood wiping it absentmindedly. The men gathered on the stools at the bar paid the newcomer no mind, and continued to down the warm contents of their mugs.

The pressing rumors of wars and unknown attacks had driven the people to sink their despairs in a glass, and swallow them out of view. Grimacing, recognizing the forlorn looks on drinkers that'd she seen in Dali, Marietta hurried over towards a small, wooden table. Sitting on the lone, rickety, unstable wooden chair, she held her cloak around her tighter. In the dim lighting of the tavern, she was a noticeable spotlight.

Ignoring the looks she was beginning to draw towards her, Marietta shifted as she waited for a waitress to shuffle over in high-heels that clicked loud against the planked floor. The ruffles of the woman's red dress swept a pathway through the light layer of dust and grime over the floorboards.

Paying the dirtied frays of her dress no mind, the waitress gave the uneasy girl a welcome smile, saying in a thick, southern accent, "Why, 'ello darling. What can I get ya?"

Attempting a small smile in return, Marietta propped herself better in her seat, despite her tired and stiff back, saying in a light voice, "I was just hoping to get a room."

Nodding, the woman sized the girl up. Outside the silk white and red cloak, her clothing was shabby, and a small pouch at her side and her small, frail size said she didn't have much money. Winking at Marietta, the waitress told her, "I'll see what I can get you."

"Thank you," Marietta called gratefully, relaxing and slumping her heavy shoulders. Sitting back in the chair, the young girl surveyed the quiet tavern mournfully.

A pub was normally filled with merry and tired workers. Today wasn't one of those merry days. Ever since news of the railway cart being attacked met the public's ears, hope dwindled in people's hearts. A war had just ended between the nations a few months back and thoughts of another brought strain and suspicion. Queen Garnet of Alexandria was remaining discreet, and a fear aroused in people that she would assume her mother's role.

Marietta feared for Alexandria as well. She grew up in Dali as an orphan – taken care by the adults there. When they started making Black Mages, Marietta had joined in, but when she saw one moving and acting on its own – confused about where it was – she reported it. The result was that the Black Mage was destroyed, and Marietta ran towards Treno, and hadn't returned to Dali since.

_And this is where all that running got me_, the girl grimaced inwardly, no longer seeing the bar but an empty room. There were no souls residing here. Even the waitress had a lost look in her eyes. Everyone's minds were in better times.

Shaking her head slowly, Marietta gave a tired sigh. She'd been putting off coming to Treno for a couple of months now – feeling hesitant of where it stood under Alexandria's rule. Now that she was here, it felt like the enrichment Treno had been spoken with, had dissipated with Fall's warmth.

The waitress shuffled back with less enthusiasm – weariness overtaking her beautiful and kind features – saying as she drew level, "I talked with the manager, and you're all set, sweetie. It's on the house, come with me."

Before Marietta could thank the woman, the waitress was already moving through the small room, around the tables and towards a staircase. Stepping quickly behind her, Marietta followed her into a lower level, and through a door the waitress held open.

As she stepped hesitantly into gloominess, Marietta questioned uncertainly, "I don't see—" She was cut off by the sound of the door being slammed shut and locked. Turning quickly on heel, Marietta stared into the darkness, panicking now. Running forward and slamming into the door, she began pounding against it, calling out in a cracked voice, "What's going on?! Open the door!"

Fear stricken now, Marietta's voice died with a choke as tears came to her eyes. Heart pumping in her throat, she cuddled against the door; shaking like a leaf. Eyelids shut firmly; the girl tried to push back her fear of the dark, thinking of good and light thoughts. Images of flowers, trees, butterflies, and blue skies appeared in her mind's eye before dying away.

A scuffle from behind her made Marietta raise her head in fear. Listening more intently, she didn't hear anything for several tense moments. Just when she was about to relax, another scuffle made her glance back sharply over her shoulder. Marietta's startled cry was drowned out as a loud brawl broke out in the pub overhead.

-

* * *

-

A warrior is only as strong as his master taught him. Only once the student gets out and spreads his talents over a range of possibilities will he find his own, inner strength, and take every opportunity to prove himself.

That's what Baku would tell his adoptive sons and fellow thieves when he taught the boys in the ways of combat. His stepfather's words followed Zidane all throughout his life, and reassured him in every action he took – even when he squared off against Baku to leave the Tantalus group.

The words still followed him today, but as he lay in the bed in the spare room of Regent Cid's suite, other thoughts came as well. Dark and glum memories of his earlier years came to mind, making his chest clench painfully.

Zidane's memory drifted to his first meeting with Freya. It wasn't himself in fact, who had found her in Cleyra's outskirts. In his mind's eye, he could see a navy-blue haired youth bringing an unconscious rat towards their campsite – a worried look spread across his face. The familiar sense of seeing the older man before him again made Zidane pine for lost causes, and he began to wonder what happened to his old friend's soul. Was it transferred to Terra? Was it lost in the exchange, or did he become a fiend? Maybe it still dwelled somewhere within Lifa Tree…

Forcing the thoughts from his head – telling himself there was no way to know – Zidane threw himself into a sitting position. Stretching his arms behind his head with a yawn, he scratched at his side subconsciously.

Pushing himself to his feet, Zidane swayed as his head spun. Shaky legs giving out, the man fell to hands and knees – thoughts swimming as painful sharps dug at his temples. Something curled vilely in his stomach until Zidane was sure he would vomit.

His throat gave way to his dinner's remains as a gruesome image of a girl's torn body flashed before his eyes. The dirt spread across her fear-stricken expression tarnished the bright radiance she brought to the dark cave she lay in. The steady thrum of moving water and a vague glimpse of a boat were the last remnants as the image slipped away.

Exhausted, Zidane collapsed chin first into the soft carpet – head spinning as his stomach fought to settle. He didn't know how long he lay there, but the man didn't move until he could hear footsteps approaching the door. Lifting his head as it opened, Zidane met white cotton covered shins.

In one glance, Cid took in the situation, and kneeling beside Zidane, helped him sit up. Protesting lightly, the man struggled to sit properly, as Cid prompted seriously, "Zidane, what happened?"

Mouth numb, the youth just shook his head, shaking some. Looking thoughtful for a moment, the Regent just nodded and helped his guest back onto the bed. Without a word, he left the room to come back a minute later with a steaming mug. Handing it to Zidane, he commanded, "Drink it."

Eyeing the foul smelling broth, catching fragrances of garlic, Zidane just nodded and downed it reluctantly. Pulling the mug away, choking on the thick, raunchy liquid, he quickly handed it back. Accepting the cup, Regent Cid stood, watching intently.

After a couple of minutes, Zidane's vision began to clear and he could think in full sentences. Stomach still a little upset, the Genome looked to the patiently anxious regent. Clearing his throat, Zidane managed in a weak voice, "I-I had a…a vision."

Cid narrowed his brow in thought at this, and waited a minute, before asking slowly, "What…about?"

Shaking his head glumly, Zidane admitted, "I-I don't know. There was…this girl and she was—" He cut off with a hard swallow. The sight of the spilled blood made his stomach curl again, but Zidane forced the medicine to stay put.

Nodding slowly, Cid held up his hand to silence the man, saying softly, "Do you know who she was?" Zidane just shook his head at this, and a grim look came over Cid's face. "Was it a dream?"

Giving thought to this, realizing that it felt too real, Zidane told him in a stronger tone, "No…no, it wasn't. She was lying in a water cavern, and there was blood…" Cutting off and clearing his throat, the youth began again, "But she seemed…" He screwed up his eyes as he tried to think back to the image, adding slowly, "Seemed to…radiate a certain glow – a certain _pureness_ even."

Cid gave him a confused look at this, before suggesting hesitantly, "Perhaps a crystal holder…then?" As Zidane shrugged in response, the regent nodded and straightened – heading for the door, calling back, "I'll see what I can find on these legendary crystal holders." Pausing at the doorway, already halfway through, he looked back, commanding, "See if you can find Veterance and what he's up to."

Before Zidane could protest, or point out that there were people in the city who knew him, Regent Cid was already gone. Sitting back with a grimace, the youth just shook his head with a tired sigh.

-

* * *

-

The death of Master Gizmaluke's sole heir brought a disturbance of peace and mourning to Burmecia's people. The day following Veterance's proclaimed fall from the palace's top, no work was done. Rats and humans alike sat on the streets with grim expressions. Tears crept down little furry faces, and mothers tried to hide their own pain to comfort their children.

Despite her ill feelings towards Veterance, Freya found herself unable to work as well. Instead, she sat in the tavern with a mug in her long, bony white hands. Tapping a claw against the half-empty cup, she gave a twisted grimace of her mouth. With a heavy sigh, she took a great swallow of the apple ale.

When the woman let her mug back down, Freya found her eyes meeting Fratley's where he stood in the doorway. The man's face was strained at his mouth as he watched her – as if there was something he was itching to say. For a couple of minutes, they remained where they were, waiting for the other to make a move. At last, with a shake of his head, Fratley turned, and ducking down, left the gloomy, dimly lit pub.

Ever since Veterance's death, Fratley had been acting strange. There was a sense of mourning, but it was almost as if it was fake. Even though she didn't like Veterance herself, Freya understood how much his role in Burmecia's reconstruction meant to the rats.

Shaking her head, and finishing the last of her ale, the dragoon set it down with a nod to the bartender, before pushing herself up off the metal stool. Stepping into the drizzle of rain and snow, Freya lifted her head to the mourning sky. It was almost as if the gods were crying too for their lost.

_But their tears are confusing_, the rat told her self, lowering her now dripping muzzle. A mixture of rain and snow – soft and harsh – almost like they mourned for the people, not for Veterance. Giving this more thought, Freya followed the cobblestone road around the lined crates. As she drew closer to the palace, the drizzle increased, as if encouraging her onwards.

Pausing before the tall, closed steel gates, Freya cast her gaze towards the top balconies she once leapt in fear of the king's safety. Neck hairs prickling, she turned her gaze towards a statue of a valued God's guardian, and her brow narrowed at a moving shadow. Grinding her long, bare feet into the gravel, Freya prepped herself before leaping for the balcony's sheltered secrets.

-

* * *

-

Love is a need to fill loneliness in one's soul – to be able to reach out to something and give it all you have, to know it's real. Most people don't understand love, and by the time they even come to accept it, and what it means, it's already too late. Love is a baffling curse on one's mind, and when shared, a cure for the heart.

But Rennet's heart was breaking. When she awoke to find Zidane gone – his pack and belongings with him – she bent down and wept in her inn room for two days. With no more money to pay, Rennet was cast into the gloomy overpass of Garnet's watch. It was on Alexandrian streets that she fled and didn't turn back.

If Zidane were indeed with Garnet, then she would leave him alone and let them be together. She was in no place to question their bond, or Zidane's love to her. Though she didn't understand it, Rennet at least had to accept it.

So instead, the woman turned her intentions to leaving the Alexandrian borders, and return to Lindblum in hopes to find her brother. The regent Rennet was sure, would be glad to hear from her since her plight three years previous. Though Cid sent out troops to find her, they didn't pass through the Mist Continent's borders. What would his reaction be when she returned? Would he welcome her? Chastise her?

Deciding that she would work things out once she arrived, Rennet turned her gaze longingly towards the Night City and her source of transportation. With no money, she was unable to take an airship to Lindblum directly, but assuming that Professor Tot still lived in Treno, then she could enlist his help.

Resting on the ground, her weapons laid over her lap protectively, the woman made no effort to shield herself from the drizzle of rain and snow. Rennet had steadily grown accustomed to the coldness, but the feel of the drops against her skin made her shiver in thought, and her own tears would collect in her eyes.

Weariness was starting to take its hold, but Rennet knew that Treno couldn't be more than a two-hours walk away. If she stopped now, she risked drawing fiends' attention to her. Ever since the discovery of what they were, the battle lust had drained from the woman. Could she be killing friends? Family members? The prospect made her stomach curl, and she could hardly get her hands to clasp around the hilt of her blades without shaking or hesitance.

_Ohh, Zidane…where _are _you…? _

-

* * *

-

The Night City hadn't changed in the last few months. The nobles still ran the place, and could be seen upturning their noses at the poor's thatched roofs and scruffy clothing. There was no middle class here, and money meant everything or nothing. Treno was where most of Alexandria's business was dealt.

The few people on the streets all shared the same forlorn looks. In a time of war, class and money made no difference. Everyone still faced the same risks and dangers no matter who they were, or where they were. War breaks alliances, but can bring a kingdom's people together.

Standing and watching a woman on her knees, crying bitterly, Rennet felt her heart out go out to the young stranger. She shared the same tears over a lost love that Rennet herself had already cried a dozen times before. Despite her need to rush to the bitter lover's aid, Rennet just shook her head and turned away with a cold grimace. There was no need for a reminder of her own misery.

Trying to push away thoughts of the shaking woman, Rennet thrust herself into the tavern. A glimpse of a moving robe caught her eye, but before she could take more then two steps, she was confronted by a wide-smiling, balding man. As the woman stood blinking at him in surprise, he greeted her warmly with a touch of southern accent, "'ello there, Miss. Can I get you a room?"

Shaking her head distractedly, Rennet gave him a strange look, saying, "Umm, no…thank you. A drink though, please."

Sitting at the end of the bar away from the gathered, gloomy-faced men, Rennet ignored the admirable looks some cast her way. Nodding a thanks to the bartender, she drank deeply from her light ale – mind drifting to Zidane. An image of the red-trimmed, white cloak she saw flashed before her eyes again and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end.

Lowering the mug, studying the bartender who polished some glasses with a forced smile, Rennet hesitated before asking slowly, "Have you…seen someone wearing a white and red cloak come through here?"

Rennet didn't know if it meant anything, but with so many strange things going on lately, she felt she could at least ask. Thoughts of the sorceresses drifted through her mind, and she swallowed her thoughts down heavily as the bartender froze in his cleaning. The man who had greeted her, cast a dark, suspicious look at the woman's back.

After a moment, the bartender set the half-clean glass back on its shelf. Pausing with his hand still clasping it, he told her in a vague voice, "No, I haven't."

Narrowing her brow at the man's strange reaction, Rennet prompted hesitantly, "Are you sure?"

The bartender didn't respond to her, and turning he strode through a flapping, wooden door behind the counter. Before Rennet knew it, a hand had clasped her shoulder, and thrust her back. The woman was staring up into the balding man's hard face, a dagger's point gleaming in the torchlight. The men around her scattered, some trying to head for the door that the pair of them were blocking.

The bartender came back with a vial of green liquid. Hard pressed clicking footsteps drew closer, and a fancy-dressed woman with brown hair braided over her shoulder came from the steps leading to the lower level, demanding in a thick, southern accent, "What's goin' on here, Jase?"

The man holding a struggling, uncomfortable Rennet down, called back in a rough voice, "She's been a-asking about that yon girl."

The woman tensed up, resting her hands on the doorframe for support. The bartender strode over to the pair from the other side of the counter, and handed Jase the vial, saying seriously to the confused and fearful people in the bar, "Stay where you are – we'll deal with this."

As some of the citizens exchanged nervous and uncertain looks, others continued with their drinking and talk. Trembling at the sight of the open vial, Rennet tried to thrust her legs up – feeling them constrained against the stool in her bent position. The woman watched in panic as the man dropped the liquid on the blade – smoke rising with a hiss as it met steel.

Jase swung back his arm, and bringing it down, was suddenly constrained with a grunt by a forceful arm. Opening one eye slowly, Rennet stared at the large, muscular and green blemished arm grasping Jase's wrist firmly. Raising her widen eyes at the tall man – red hair shielding his squinted eyes and framing his set, square jaw – she grew confident.

With all her might, Rennet forced her legs from their stiff and uncomfortable position. Pulling her knees to her hips, the woman thrust her other arm out to connect with Jase's jaw squarely. As he bucked back, the mysterious man twisted Jase's arm, and a loud, nerve-racking crack rented the air.

The bartender along with two other men came towards the stranger now – blades in two pairs of hands, and a whip in another's. The short, stout man with the whip cracked it out, grasping it around the stranger's arm and pulling it taught. The redhead paid it no mind and tugged his arm back. The two men stood, struggling to pull the other over. It was during this that the bartender lunged forward at Scarlet – over his crumpled, whimpering friend on the floor. Without a moment's pause, Rennet dropped to the ground and swung her leg out to trip him. The bartender was sent back against a quick-stepping crowd of men. The small bar erupted in chaos and demands as drunk men and women attempted to push past the waitress in search of an open way out.

The last man took advantage of the fray, and leaping over his fallen comrades, dove his pocketknife into Scarlet's shoulder. The tall stranger let out grunting roar as he reared back, toppling over a rickety chair. The pair were sent to the ground with a crash of splintering wood. The round man with the whip shuffled to his feet; face red and heated as he thrashed out – catching Scarlet across the face.

A gash of blood appeared on the stranger's cheek. Looking at Scarlet for a moment, Rennet ground her teeth, and struck out with her elbow, catching the attacker in the jaw and sending him back. In the next motion, she pulled the short man off Scarlet, and tugging the tall, heavy man to his feet, pulled him out of the tavern as outragous yells followed them.

-

* * *

-

"You'll be all right," the short, professor Tot told a patiently waiting Scarlet as he tended to the wound on the man's shoulder. The mysterious, green tinted skinned stranger didn't say anything, remaining still on the stool he was plopped down on. Wrapping the shoulder now, the small, rounded and aging man's glasses slid down his nose as he continued, "The wound's not very deep." The gash in Scarlet's cheek had already been attended to, and had stopped bleeding now.

Rennet stood to one side with hands resting on her forearms, and watching the pair. She felt a little shaken after the bar fight, and hadn't said a word since she knocked on Professor Tot's tower door with the redheaded man leaning on her shoulders. Now she stood in complete silence, face pale and strained.

As the professor stepped away, fixing his glasses again, he told the patiently waiting man, "I see you haven't changed much, Amarant."

Scarlet, who had been examining his shoulder, not looked impassively at the scholar. Waiting a moment before replying, he said in a deep voice, "The world doesn't change much, Doc."

At this, Tot gave a craggy laugh, saying, "Yes, yes…well, that _is _how things seem to be. One war gone and another already happening."

Rennet watched the short man turn to replace his supplies, and then turned her gaze to meet the stranger's. A moment's awkward pause passed between them before she asked with a hint of irritation, "Why'd you help me?"

Squinted eyes lowering a little, the man replied, "They ganged up on you."

"You didn't have to help…"

"It wasn't fair."

"It's none of your business," the woman snapped suddenly, narrowing her brow at the man. Scarlet paused at this, examining the woman before him with mild interest.

"You're angry," he noted.

Wrinkling her nose, Rennet muttered, "I'm not, just baffled."

Shrugging his good shoulder, Amarant pushed off from the stool, saying, "Either way, you repaid your debt."

As he headed for the door, Rennet lowered her arms to her sides, staring at his back in disbelief. "_Debt?!_"

Stopping and half turning towards her, Amarant nodded, saying, "Aye, I saved you – you helped me. We're good now."

Before Rennet could do more then open her mouth, Professor Tot strode back with his long nose in an open book, calling, "Rennet, what _was _that bickering about?"

Turning towards the scholar, calmer now, she told him with a grimace, "It wasn't a bicker, it was a brawl, Professor." Pausing, the woman added hesitantly, "And I mentioned a white cloaked person, and all of a sudden they were trying to kill me."

At this, Amarant paused in mid-stride, and gazed back at her. Waiting a minute, he prompted seriously, "The girl?"

Looking at him, Rennet gave a light shrug, saying calmly, "I don't know. I just caught a glimpse of a red and white cloaked person."

"Why'd you ask?"

"I really don't know," Rennet admitted honestly with a slow shake of her head. "It was a fleeting thought."

Stepping forward, nodding slowly, and crossing his arms, the man reported, "I saw that girl being led away after some chick and the bartender had a heated discussion."

Giving him a perplexed look, Rennet asked, "Do you think there was something they were trying to get from her?"

Shaking his head slowly, Amarant replied, "More like something they were trying to cover up."

With a worried look on his elderly face, Tot looked to Amarant, asking earnestly, "Beneath the bar?" At the man's nod, he turned to Rennet, saying worriedly, "Oh my, then someone best do something."

Looking at the professor, Rennet prompted, "Why? Is she in danger?"

Closing his book, and resting the great volume beneath his arm, Tot reported, "There is a large, terrifying creature dwelling in the sewers."

Eyes widening, Rennet turned to Amarant, proclaiming, "We have to help her!"

Shaking his head, and gesturing with his fist at her, the tall man told Rennet flatly, "Since when does this include me?"

Blinking at him, becoming angry again, Rennet told him with a flare of her nostrils, "You can't tell you could honestly just walk away! _Knowing _that a someone is in trouble!"

Turning and heading for the door, Amarant called back, "To hell with your self-righteous crap!"

Shaking her head after him, Rennet snapped back, "Fine, leave then! I guess that means I can collect your bounty instead."

Pausing at this, the man waited a minute before glancing back at her over his shoulder, saying flatly, "Would you really? After I saved your life?"

Giving a quirk smile, Rennet quoted, "I paid off my debt."

After another minute, Amarant gave an irritable sigh, and muttering to himself, headed for the door. Opening it and striding through, he called back loudly, "Let's get going then, woman!"

Blinking at this exchange, Professor Tot straightened his glasses on his nose crookedly, commenting, "Ohh my." When he looked up at Rennet, he added, "Be careful now."

Nodding at him with a smile, the woman told him confidently, "I'll be fine," before running after her new partner.

* * *

-

**_Themed Song: _**"Stand" by Rascal Flatts


	13. Expectations for Crossed Individuals

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE**_

**-**

There was a little factor that I meant to add in when I first put this chapter up, but didn't. I added it in, and it's a rather important and interesting piece. The rest of Final Fantasy IX's features are slowly focusing in this story now. Enjoy. :) _- Ammom_

* * *

It's hard for a single mind to rest, when it knows that the rest of the world isn't 'fine'. The need to help and aid others lies buried deep in a person's natural moral, and though there are those who can deny it, it's normally an antagonizing prospect. Thieves' natural moral didn't extend outside themselves. They were taught to see the world as full of opportunities just for themselves and their kind.

However, Tress never saw it this way. The thief always looked beyond a thief's view, and stood watching how a commoner treated life differently. Baku always told his boys that a thief was above everyone. They stole what they deserved, and what they wanted. Those who didn't have the force to seize what they craved, were the weak and lowly ones.

The day that Tress and Zidane ventured towards Burmecia – having snuck through Gizmaluke's Grotto by posing as Lindblum recruits – a new way of thinking enveloped their lives. The broken and bitter rat-woman lying in the dunes of the unholy terrain surrounding Cleyra was a desperate soul searching for purpose and meaning. Despite the stranger's ghostly features and frail form – completed with hissed curses – Tress saw it as an opportunity.

When he returned with the unconscious woman slumped on his shoulders, he was greeted by a wave of rants and complaints from his partner. Tress cast aside Zidane's closed-mindedness, and aided the woman to health. The opportunity to learn more of the world was too great to pass up, and through the nights that Tress aided the discarded rat, Freya, he came to have a deep appreciation and understanding for Burmecian and Cleyra rats. They appeared no longer as disgusting vermin, but as social and civilized creatures with a love for life.

Tress carried those thoughts until they led him to his grave.

Now, standing out on the water-spat city streets of Burmecia, Zidane cursed the god statues guarding the palace. Tress had welcomed the rats into his heart, and paid dearly for his devotion and vow to them. Six years had passed since that dreadful night, and Tress' presence of mind with it. The world went by – never knowing what it lost.

_But I'll always know_, Zidane reminded himself firmly. Giving a distinct glare and nod towards one of the statues, the thief forced himself to convey his attention to his present status. There was a traitor amongst the rats, and he would soon find where.

Stepping closer to the large doublewide, steely gates, Zidane felt them loom over him ominously. Burmecia stood like a flickering candle flame in a storm – small, and ready to go out. The city was fragile, and was held together only by the weakest glue. The rats of the kingdom were in a delicate state of mind. With Veterance's death came a gloomy expense – the people's ambitions.

Zidane realized that once he caught and exposed Veterance's scheme, the people would be even more disheartened to find his deceptive betrayal. Shaking his head, the youth knew that either way it was a lost cause. At least, when he found Veterance, the grim cause would have truth.

Striding up to the doors, Zidane pulled at them effortlessly, and stepped back, shaking his head in defeat. They wouldn't open, and without reasoning his need to enter the closed-off palace, the thief couldn't turn to the king. Zidane wasn't prepared to relinquish information when he didn't even have a plan grasped.

Stepping back even further, Zidane cast his glance to the reconstructed balconies above. He, Freya, and Vivi had once leapt a god statue part by part to enter the palace. Could he do it again?

Seeing no other way around it, Zidane flexed his muscles, and standing jaunt, twisted his body to either side to stretch out his stiff back. There was nothing for it. Either he got into the palace, or he didn't. At times like these, he wished he were a Dragoon knight, and able to leap twenty feet at a time like Freya.

Casting his glance back, seeing no visible workers in the area, the thief made his way quietly and stealthy towards one of the statues situated just beneath a break in the pillars holding up the lowest balcony. Gazing up at it, Zidane grimaced at the trails of water running the cracks and fine curves of the figure. The sword held point down in both hands of the proud, rat statue ran with white blood to puddle at the rock base.

Placing one foot on the rat's right boot – leg bending almost to his chest – Zidane pushed himself up to stand uneasily. The water was slippery beneath his battered shoes. Sighing to himself, the man slowly made his way up – throwing himself to hang from the statue's arm next. Once pulling his weight up, the youth lay on circular mass with his cheek pressed against the cool stone. The hood of his cloak whipped back in the wind, but Zidane didn't bother to readjust it. Once he was on the balcony, the cloak wouldn't matter.

Pushing himself with a grunt on hands and knees, the man reminded himself that if he didn't go after Veterance, then it would hang on his conscience. Then, for a moment, Zidane just crouched there, staring into his reflection. What did he owe Burmecia? The city had taken from him his closest friend and partner. Was he willing to risk more – _others_, just for a group of rats who couldn't muster up the courage to find the truth themselves?

Swimming in the depths of his own ocean-blue orbs, Zidane saw the reckless and selfish person he once was. Just two years previous, he would have shoved away the world's difficulties, and lived his life in the riches of the thieves. Perhaps he would have found the secret guild that roamed the world, seeking the greatest treasures of both value and heritage.

_Instead, here I am…going by the insane whim of my dead brother_.

Sighing, Zidane pushed himself up to hang his legs over the arm of the statue. Gazing out at the thatched and toppling, lopsided roofs, the youth knew Veterance could only be in Burmecia. Unless the rat had somehow passed the sight of the notable guards and through Gizmaluke's Grotto, the only place he could reside was in the palace. It was a closed-off area, and no one had entered it since the rat's so-called death.

Glancing back up towards the looming balcony with its iron sides, Zidane couldn't help but question his motive. Was he _ready_ to try to save the world again? He could just turn back to his friends, return to Garnet – apologize to Vivi and admit to Blank he was an idiot. Try to bring up old goals and dreams, and return to a life of putrid thievery and a dismal life? Or perhaps join Garnet in the castle, confined to the rules of noble living?

However, if Zidane sat back and watched the world crumble like a cookie in a god's hand, he would forever know he could have done something. Despite the few choices he was left with to make, he could at least still make them. There lay before him adventure and times of difficulty, but also a deep sense and knowing that he was doing good for someone else besides himself – just like he had promised Tress once.

Shaking his head slowly, Zidane pushed himself up and grasped his hands on the stone-carved armor just beneath the statue's shoulder. Sometimes it was just easier to not think at all.

From within the creeping shadows of Burmecia's palace, Freya strode on quiet, long nails that grasped the little rocks with each step to avoid a noticeable stir. The rubble that still littered the floors and balconies of Burmecia's pride were grim reminders of worse times. The focus now however, was to seek truth and justice. Who could be in the depths of the palace, after it had been closed off? A worker surely would have called for help or given a signal, instead of running upon notice.

Stepping gingerly down a hallway, pressed against the wall, Freya ducked her head to try appearing less noticeable. Her white skin made her an illumination against the steely blue-black of the cracked and once proudly decorated walls. The halls were narrow and led in a square towards four doorways. The center of the square was cut off to show the level below.

After some searching – deciphering old footprints in the dust from new ones – Freya presumed the unwelcome visitor was heading for the throne room. She had only seen the reconstructed area briefly, and had yet been able to give chance to the telling of Burmecia's fall and rise. A pain pulled at the rat woman's heart at this thought, and she began to wonder if she would ever have a chance.

Would her words be remembered in the generations following her death? Would they remember only the story or the storyteller as well?

Pressing away these thoughts, Freya reminded herself of the task at hand. Someone was infiltrating the sanctity of her people's ways. Rounding towards the doors standing crookedly in the back – thrown open to reveal ascending stairs, Freya broke from her shimmying and hurried up them. Ignoring the soft patter of her dust-coated feet on the hard marble, the knight's attention was focused solely on her goal.

The world has never rested on the shoulders of a single individual. Many people come together to face the odds they normally couldn't take on alone. Even when not united, separate groups can add to the triumph of another. Association, connection, and teamwork makes the difference – not only in success – but in results, unity, and strength.

When Zidane had finally made his way slowly and groggily to the throne room following recent footprints in the depicted remains of Burmecia's past, it was there he found Freya. On hands and knees, the thief crouched behind the statues where he had once hidden with the rat warrior and befriended Black Mage. Crawling forward carefully with his eyes on his slow moving hands, the man came to a sudden halt at nearby padding.

Raising his gaze and expecting the worse, Zidane was startled to find two squinted and accusing eyes meet his from the depths of white hair. Freya sat crouched with one clenched fist on her knee as she immediately took in the sight of the Genome before her.

For a long minute, all the two could do was stare at each other as they waited for the other to make a move. At last, Freya dared in a hushed tone, "Zidane?"

Again, Zidane thought back to how Regent Cid had recognized him. He wasn't wearing the common attire of the Genomes, and had dyed his hair in attempt to shield himself from recognition. It was of course; the tail and strange change from other Genomes surely were what gave him away once again.

With a sigh, the thief ducked his head in defeat, and closing his eyes, began in a tired and loud whisper, "Freya, look…I—"

The youth was cut off as the rat shushed him snappishly, holding up a hand to silence him. She turned her proud head, pricking her ears at a distant sound. Zidane shut his mouth firmly and tried to listen for the noise, but could only make out the soft patter of rain beating against the palace's roof overhead.

The thief opened his mouth to state he didn't hear anything, when a distinct, hard look from his old friend caused him to swiftly shut it again. After a few more moments of silence, Zidane thought he could make out a faint scraping sound. Shifting his weight carefully against the back of a statue of a Dragoon knight of old, he pressed his ear through a space between its arms.

The scraping noise became more distinct as it drew closer, and the thief had to bare his teeth to keep a shiver from running through them and down his spine. Zidane flinched as it came to a screeching halt, and peering with one eye out, he was startled to find the shape and massive form of the Burmecian throne standing distantly in the open midst of the courtyard.

A single, muscular and slim form straightened and a glisten off a pair of set, gold rings illumined the rat's distinct, blue features. "Veterance," Freya breathed in half-disbelief. Zidane only nodded slowly in response – eye still caught on the supposedly dead rat. Veterance was drabbed in worker's plain clothing that clung to his skin.

Arms shaking noticeably beneath her pillow sleeves, Freya's breath caught sharply in her chest. Eyes flaring in anger at the death of the unknown worker and the secrecy of Lord Gizmaluke's trusted son, the knight's hands clenched until she dug deep gashes into her palms with long fingernails.

Before Zidane could do more then look up, Freya was on her feet and leaping over the wall of statues as she pulled her trusted Partisan from the loop in her back. Hesitating only momentarily, Zidane did a double take at the departing, crouched woman before yelling to her. When the rat woman didn't stop, Zidane pushed himself up and after his old friend – cloak whipping back and off to float over a warrior statue's down-faced sword.

Ignoring her companion's desperate and warning call, Freya ran full length towards the motionless form. As the Dragoon swung the Partisan around, her approach came to a sudden halt as Veterance caught the weapon's head safely in his hand – bringing the attack to a sudden stop. Malice flared in his eyes from beneath scattered bangs, and in one motion, he thrust the weapon's blade aside, and kicked out with his foot.

Zidane watched as the hit connected with Freya's chest, sending her sprawling back into the midst of a growing puddle. There the knight lay immobile. Hatred rising again for the oddly silent rat lord, Zidane drew out his daggers. With a leap, he landed forcefully down before Veterance, causing him to step back cautiously. Swinging out with his weapons in wide, devious arcs, Zidane kept his eyes fixated on his opponent's strong and swift moving legs.

A sidestep from Veterance caused Zidane to look up, but not in time to avoid a powerful blow to the throat. Immediately, the man dropped to his knees with head bowed. Ragged coughs hacked his body in a desperate attempt to breathe as his throat swelled up. Arms slumped to either side of him with weapons still clasped, Zidane's hands twitched feebly.

Pushing herself up with a grunt on one arm, Freya blinked through soaked bangs at the pair fifteen feet away. As if in slow motion, she watched as Veterance snatched one of the frozen thief's daggers in his hand. Swinging back his arm over his shoulder for the strike, a cold hatred flashed in the rat's eyes. Zidane crouched helpless and soar – soaked through to the bone with hair lying matted to shield his eyes. The man's mouth hung open in pain and desperate breathing.

As realization hit her, Freya found herself on leaden feet, and in one swift movement, was over pulling Veterance's strong muscled arm down. The strike didn't happen, and the two rats stood faltering in their struggle. Slowly, Zidane raised his gaze as Veterance gained the upper hand and threw Freya back.

This time, the knight kept her balance, and stood glaring deeply into the lord rat's eyes. Veterance straightened, and lowered his arm. A few moments passed in tense silence until Freya managed to croak out, "_W-Why?! _Why, Lord Veterance?! That worker, he—"

The woman cut off at her leader's twisted scowl. Throwing his empty handed arm out, Veterance snarled, "Why? _Why?! _Because I am _tired_ of fools being on the throne of Burmecia. My _father _should have been on that throne…_not _Fargace! It would rightly be mine now." Pulling a face, showing some of his white, sharpened teeth, he added darkly, "Once that fool of a ruler was disposed of."

Freya stared at the rat in disbelief. Had she really heard such cruel words formed from his mouth? Shaking her head slowly, Freya interjected, "Master Gizmaluke was a powerful and—"

A sudden eruption of laughter exploded from Veterance's chest, and the rat held his sides as he dipped back his head. Seeing the way Freya pursed her lips, he lowered his gaze to her, saying, "Peh-lease, my father was a fool to let Fargace take the role of king. Had he listened to me, he would have ascended to his rightful seat on the thrown. Instead, I had to take matters into my own hands."

An image of Master Gizmaluke's final resting form flashed before Freya's mind, and stepping back on trembling feet, she swallowed before demanding in a rampage now, "Did _you _transform Master Gizmaluke into that…that…_thing?!_"

Veterance broke into more laugher – deeper this time. The sound caused Zidane's clumped, wet neck hairs to stand on end. Wrinkling his long nose, Veterance stated in disgust – voice loathing each word, "I even agreed to help that…that…_Elephant _Lady in her world conquest in exchange for my father's transformation. Who would suspect _me_, being continents away?"

At the rat lord's confession, Zidane drifted towards his senses. He was distinctly aware of the swelling and prickling pain in his throat. Pressing presence of it aside, he managed in a cracked, small voice that made both rats turn to him, "Y-You…b-betrayed your own…kin…?" The man's head swam with these thoughts. Of all the things that he himself had done, Zidane could never see himself committing such vile crimes against his fellow thieves and friends.

Chuckling at the distant man's reaction, Veterance gave a slow shake of his head, telling the pair, "Men die. Beasts die. Trees die. Even continents perish…" Opening his eyes to gaze with a triumphant smirk at Freya, the rat lord finished, "I am sure my father understands that now, wherever his soul may rest."

The bitter truth of a fiend's soul clamped Zidane's heart in his chest. Falling onto his hands, the thief shook his head in disbelief and disgust. Something unseen pulled and strained at his neck. "Y-You don't get it…"

Veterance lifted his eyebrows at the fallen man with slight interest. When Zidane didn't elaborate, the rat scoffed, discarding the words as quickly as they came. Gripping the water-dripping dagger more firmly, Veterance flipped it in his hand so it was pointing downwards.

In a hushed, serious tone as his brow narrowed, the rat confirmed, "You know too much."

In one swift, quick and accurate move, Veterance turned and plunged the newly honed dagger through the soft fabrics of the crouched Genome's clothing. At the same time, Freya reached out and grasped at Veterance's arm – managing to pull back the weapon before it buried too deeply. As Zidane let out a muffled, choked cry, red spread quickly to stain the white cotton of his undershirt.

Legs and tails getting entangled in the struggle, the pair of rats were sent stumbling backwards in their frenzy. Veterance's attention turned from the wounded man to Freya as he began to swipe out and stab at her in the short spaces parting them. Dodging the clumsy and unorganized blows, Freya caught the bigger rat around the shoulder and pulled him back further away from Zidane.

Body shaking as blood flowed easily down his side to stain the cobblestone and run red the gathering streams, the injured man raised his gaze to friend and foe. As the odd lumpy pair stumbled forward a little – Veterance gaining some advantage – Zidane's grip on his remaining dagger stiffened. Trying to focus his eyes as anger ran through him, the thief reminded himself of the lives Veterance had taken – of the lies and disloyalty to the rats of Burmecia and Cleyra. Thoughts of the Eidolon War and the Mist Continent's fall ran swiftly through his mind. Zidane remembered Garnet's hurt face as she watched first Lindblum and then Alexandria destroyed with her own inner power.

Channeling all the rage, pain, and deaths of the Eidolon War into his arm, Zidane used it in his strength as he leaned forward and up – thrusting his dagger arm over his shoulder. Veterance froze at the meaningful anger lying behind the Genome's bright eyes. Loudly, Veterance called for his follower he knew to be standing to one side, "Fratley?! Fratley!"

The rat's words were lost as he met Zidane's fierce gaze. In the man's eyes, lay the souls Veterance had cost. The swift and vibrant crimson-pink waves that washed out from the Genome's emotions swept as currents to lighten the area distinctly. The rain and wounds no longer mattered as a new power blazed strongly in the wounded man's hand.

In the slow but swift moment that Zidane swept out his arm to cut a deep, clean arc across Veterance's chest, the rat lord knew Kuja's last words to him true: _"As time comes to pass, you will find that those who walked the path with you, will not be there to meet you in the end."_

Veterance's misting, squinted eyes swept foggily beyond the warrior's shoulder and powerful stroke to the back. There – standing proudly beneath the balcony and behind the shoulder-high guardian statues – the noble face of Fratley watched expressionless. In the knight's eyes burned defiance and recognition of justice.

Then, the rat lord was slumping to his knees before Zidane as Freya loosened herself from the man. The woman stepped to the side to watch the pair with cold murder in her eyes, and jealousy for not having taken the fatal blow to Veterance herself.

Man and rat sat crouched at eye level, both at equal rank. Despite their different meanings and purposes, the same thoughts of betrayal ran through the pair's minds. Zidane's dark, solemn expression didn't erase the mask of pain behind. Veterance's slumped and hazy expression didn't erase his lack of regret for his actions. There was however, a noticeable feeling of loneliness and abandonment etched into the sad lines around the rat's mouth and eyes. In his course actions, Veterance had lost his people, his pride, and himself until he couldn't look in the mirror without seeing someone else.

The rain's fall quickened, but was silent even as it beat against the stone rooftop. The rat lord slumped back lifelessly to gaze up unblinkingly into his treasured gods' eyes. Blood seeped through his clothing to join the rain water that swept to meet Zidane's own reddened puddle.

For the few tense moments that Zidane crouched on his knees with weary arms slumped at his side, he looked down at Veterance and didn't see a corrupt individual – but instead – another victim to one's own ambitions, and to the world's expectations.

Weariness and pain finally taking over him as the room dimmed and Trance's power drained from him, Zidane slumped to his side, already gone before he hit the cobblestone.

* * *

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**_Themed Song: _**"Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica


End file.
